Please Don't Catch Me
by AmazingGraceless
Summary: He crashes onto her world, and nothing will ever be the same again. What happens when Rey encounters a wreck and saves a man's life - a man who before was never tempted by the light side. As he learns more about the luminous Rey, Kylo Ren is finding that he isn't as immune to the light as he once thought. Reylo, possible spoilers. AU, for certain.
1. Before I Fall Too Fast

**AN: In honor of the new trailer, I've decided to do a multi-chapter story (with plot) starring Reylo. I've gotten quite attatched to this ship, and I know some of you have, too. Possible spoilers ahead. Remember, this is an AU, where no matter what the canon says, they are NOT related. Keep that in mind. Also, the story's title and chapter titles are inspired by "Catch Me" by Demi Lovato. I don't own that song or _Star_ Wars in any way/shape/form. With that, Jedi and Sith (or should I say Knights of Ren?) I present _Please Don't Catch Me._**

* * *

Perhaps it was just a case of fate. Or the Force, depending on what old stories you believed. Whatever the reason, fate or Force, it was an interesting coincidence when Rey showed up in the desert where there was no wreck yet.

It had been early in the morning when the orphan of the Jakku settlement had awoken in the wee hours with a strange feeling. She'd learned long ago to just go with whatever she was feeling when she felt it. It always did seem to bring her good fortune.

She leaned against her speeder. She saw something in the atmosphere, something like in the old stories of Star Destroyers. Lights, like there was some sort of fight above there.

Of course, any of the other children of the settlement would tell her that she was just a crazy daydreaming orphan, and that she should just go back to scavenging for half-useless parts from the Star Destroyer their parents had crashed onto Jakku. They never thought any of her fanciful thoughts of the Force and the Jedi and the Skywalkers to be worth their time. They were just stories, long gone, right?

She checked the timepiece on the holo screen of her binoculars. She would have to be going back to her usual worksite soon, or else his get into big time trouble again.

Yet, right on cue, she _heard_ a cry that wasn't actually in the physical world, some kind of supernatural thing that made her cry out and cover her ears in pain. This was followed by the screaming of machinery falling, a foreign sound to Rey. Upon hearing it, she lifted her binoculars to her goggles, and saw an A-Wing in dark colors burning up as it approached Jakku's surface at breakneck speeds.

"It's going to crash," she murmured, and she couldn't take her eyes off of the falling spacecraft that had completely captured her attention. It was coming closer, and closer, and-

Rey's eyes widened as it looked like the A-wing was going to hit her, and she dived to the other side of the speeder bike. She went flying with the force of the impact. Her small but tough body landed twenty feet away, and she tumbled down a small dune.

She propped herself up on her elbows to see the slowly burning A-Wing right next to her speeder. She ran over to it, and dragged her speeder away from the wreck. Curiosity burned at her lungs. _Would anyone be in it? Would they have information of the outside world?_

Of course, the fire would be a problem. Still, she didn't have those rusted up cans of foam-dispenser for nothing. It might just get enough of the fire away from the door to the cockpit for her to get through to who or whatever might be inside. Besides, if she could take some machinery away from this, it could save what time she'd lost by coming out here. She pulled the dispenser can from off of her belt and she expertly sprayed the foam over the entrance.

Rey quickly scaled the top, where the door was to the cockpit, at least on the ships that she had taken apart or had seen the other kids live in inside the settlement. Much to her confusion, there wasn't a door there. Smoke from the front was starting to burn at her lungs. She jumped down to see the outline of a door in the back. She lifted her lock-pick gear and worked on persuading the new gears to open for her so she could break open the new contents.

She was rewarded with a huge cloud of smoke in her face.

She coughed and tightened her goggles. With her headpiece, she'd have a few minutes of air to see if there was anyone alive in there and to get them out. The supernatural sense that had led her to the place that morning guided her instinctively forwards, to where a man all in black was lying on the floor, very close to the escape pod. Without thinking twice, the small girl slung him over her back and she escaped the death trap. She stopped right by her speeder, and let down the cloth surrounding her mouth and let her goggles hang around her neck as cold oxygen raced down her lungs.

She looked down at the man she had rescued. Was he even alive? Her shaking fingers pulled off the gloves, and she reached to find a bit of skin to expose. A pulse. Strong and steady. Then she heard the coughing, although his eyes did not open.

Relief swept through her. He was alive. She saw the blood, the shrapnel- she had to get to the colony, and fast. It was hard for her to decide exactly how to transport the body there. She couldn't very well put him in the net with the junk pile! Yet that probably was what she'd have to do, she mused as she looked over the pieces of this puzzle.

* * *

It was of great surprise when the orphan, a little older than all of the rest of the settlement's younger generation, had appeared smelling of smoke carrying an injured man all in black.

"He needs the medic!" Rey shouted, and her determined voice carried. "He needs help!"

The medic, a man with some cyborg parts, one of the rare oddities the Jakku settlement had to offer, Rey being one herself, hobbled forwards over the sand.

"Bring him to me, Rey," he said, his voice creaking from his waning age. It had been years since he'd anyone to treat like this. She carried the young man over to the medic, and into the makeshift medical wing made out of an old A-Wing.

Everyone in the village knew that nothing would ever be the same again.


	2. Kiss Me Quick, But Make it Last

The first thing the medic did was remove the mask. All Rey had been able to see before was his eyes, but now she saw a handsome young face that belonged to a boy about her age. Eighteen or nineteen, much like her, she guessed.

"That'll help him breathe easier," the medic said. "He's got some bad burns on his hands, see how they burned through gloves?"

Rey nodded as her eyes widened in horror. The medic removed the cloak first, and then the shirt. Burns spread up and down his arms, and there was a hydrospanner, albeit a much more updated version, lodged in his abdomen.

"Thank the Force it isn't too deep," the medic murmured as he pulled it out and applied one of their sacred bacta strips to heal it. Rey took the burn salve that was much more common and easier to cultivate off of the shelf, and helped the medic spot it and wrap the heavy bandages around his hands.

"He should wake up soon," the medic told Rey. "You did the right thing, coming straight here first rather than trying to salvage. The others are out at the crash site right now, putting out the fire and taking some parts. You did good, kid."

A smile came to her face as she blushed. It wasn't often that any villager ever praised her for her work. It was nice, to know that maybe she would belong for once, that she could be one of them.

The Vicar, leader of the village, came in.

"We've decided what to do about this stranger," he said.

"You held a meeting without me?" Rey asked, disappointed.

"We wouldn't have wanted you," he said harshly. "Besides, if you wanted to advocate for your haul, you will be quite pleased. Your fellow colonists on Jakku unanimously agreed that this young man will be your responsibility. That means his food portions, water allowance- it will all come out of yours."

Rey winced. She had the least in the village, everyone knew that. But she couldn't argue with the Vicar. She was just an orphan. The little girl that nobody wanted that lived in the AT-AT on the edge of the colony.

"Yes sir," she said.

"Be careful, Rey," the Vicar said. "Something doesn't feel right about the stranger you have brought into our way of life."

With that, the Vicar exited.

The medic sighed, and stared at Rey apologetically. "I'm going to have to use a lot of your water allowance to make sure his internal systems are still working."

"That's fine," she lied. Nobody cared about her anyway. It was enough to almost make her cry. Water was precious, so she bit her lip and held back the sobs she wanted to release.

* * *

The last thing before the darkness for him was the pain and the heat. He'd been trying to run for the escape pod on his command shuttle, when he'd been hit again, and the shudder had sent him violently into a spare hydrospanner, and his head had hit the floor hard and everything had gone. _Damn you, Hux,_ he'd thought before he'd lost consciousness.

Everything came back in a blinding fury, pain, heat, memories, as he sat up, heart racing. He was shocked to find his shirt and mask were gone, there were bandages all over him, it seemed, and the pain was a dull, aching throb. His lungs were practically burning and his mouth was dry.

He was very aware of the girl sitting right next to him in tattered clothing the color of sand. About his age, dark hair, dark eyes, sun-tanned skin, a serious expression on her face. Very pretty, in his mind.

Enough of that, he reprimanded himself. Focus on your surroundings. Try to figure out where you are. He could see the rusting interior of. . . _an A-Wing?_ He also saw a tattered cloth over the doorway, and could feel heat seeping in from the entrance.

"We were wondering when you were going to wake up," the girl said to him. He was surprised to hear a Coruscant accent out of what looked like a desert farmgirl, a female Luke Skywalker, almost.

"Where am I? Who the hells are you?" He demanded. He was displeased to hear how vulnerable his voice sounded. How weak.

"You're on Jakku, and my name is Rey. You're the first outsider we've had for some time," the girl said.

"Outsider?" His thoughts were spinning. Jakku? Outsider? Rusted A-wings? Where exactly was he?

"We've had no off-planet contact for nineteen years," Rey explained. "I was just a baby aboard the Star Destroyer when it crashed onto Jakku, making me the oldest child here."

He groaned. The story was now familiar. He was close to Endor, for kriff's sake, and this must've been that missing Star Destroyer. If they had no way to contact the outside world, he would be stuck on this Force-forsaking world forever!

"Who are you?" She cocked her head to the side. "Where are you from? What's it like? Do you have a family? Are you a pilot? Who for-"

"Whoa!" He shouted to interrupt. "Why all the questions, lady?"

"You're the first person from outside that I've ever met," she said simply. "I was just curious."

He groaned inward again. "Well, the name's Kylo. Kylo Ren. Mean anything to you?"

She frowned. "No. Why should it?"

Kylo lay back down and groaned audibly. These out-dated imbeciles didn't even know the Knights of Ren! There went the reputation card.

"Come on, we'd better get going," Rey said after a minute of silence.

"Go where?" He asked.

"My home," she said simply. "The others don't want you on their hands, so you've gotten stuck with me, I'm afraid."

Home. The word stuck in his mouth. It was a foreign concept, something that he never completely understood. It wasn't exactly a type of word the Knights of Ren encouraged, a safe, warm, familial place.

Ignoring his silence, she tossed a sand-colored wad of cloth at him.

"You're going to want this," she said.

He quickly put on the shirt and gathered up what was left of his old clothes, including the mask, and followed Rey outside to where her speeder bike was parked.


	3. I Want to See How Badly This Will Hurt

Rey mounted onto the seat of her speeder bike, and looked over her shoulder at Kylo, who was just standing there, staring with an irritated expression.

"Well, are you coming or not?" She asked, trying to insert as much encouragement as she could muster. To be honest, she'd had a really screwed-up day already, and this was just the Jawa on top, him being rude to her.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" He demanded.

"Well first, put the cargo in the net," she said as she tried to keep herself from screaming with frustration and tried to be somewhat understanding. "Then, get on right behind me. It'll be a little tight, and you'll have to hold onto me, but it'll get us to the AT-AT."

"AT-AT?" Kylo asked, recognizing the old term.

"Yeah," she answered. "The walkers, you've heard of them, right?"

"Oh, yes, I just-" he stopped and put the cargo into the netting, and clipped his lightsaber onto his belt. Part of his stomach contracted at the weight of it, a muscle memory of having it lodged in there. He didn't want to be walking around without it, though, so on it would have to go. He awkwardly mounted and wrapped his arms around Rey's waist.

 _She's just a girl,_ he reminded himself. Nothing to get all excited about.

Rey tried to ignore the electric feeling she was getting from a boy touching her waist, and instead kick-started her speeder. She went slowly through the inner part of the colony and twisted around the marketplace. As she reached the edges, she sped up and started to go as fast as she liked.

She loved thrilling speeds, some daring twists and tricks. She wouldn't be pulling off some of those tonight with the extra weight of another person not used to such stunts, but she did want to show him the fun of going fast with the wind and the view of the gorgeous sunset.

Finally, she slowed down and braked in front of the rusted, collapsed AT-AT.

"You can let go now," she said before she could stop herself. Slightly miffed, he hopped off and grabbed the cloak, mask, and other items. Rey hopped off and chained her bike to the outside to keep any of the colony boys who were jealous of her hot ride from stealing it.

"Home sweet home," she announced as she walked in after the tarp keeping the insanely cold night air out. He followed her in as she flicked the lights on that had been wired in by her former guardian.

"Here's the rations we have, not very much, but it should get us by," she rambled on as she gestured to where her fridge was. "Fresher's to the left, and I'll start making up the second bed."

Kylo nodded silently, trying to make out why this girl was put in charge of him. She seemed pretty self-sufficient from what he could observe, but didn't seem to be liked very much. Didn't seem to have a lot to give, either.

He did go into the fresher, leaving Rey to her own thoughts that were thundering in her head to the drumbeat of her heartbeat. How was she going to survive off of these rations split between them? How was she even supposed to keep an eye on him when she had to work at the excavation site? He didn't even really seem to know or appreciate what she was giving up. Maybe it was better when she lived alone.

He could feel the strength of her emotions coming to him. Her worry, her frustration. He took a long look in the grimy, cracked mirror. He knew he was the cause of her worry. Something in him softened, something that he hadn't felt for a long time. A sort of warm, soft feeling. The last time he felt it. . . He couldn't really remember, except maybe. . .

Kylo closed his eyes as an image of a skiff and laughter imprinted onto his mind. A golden place that he couldn't really remember, that he wasn't even sure was real. Still, when he came out, he walked over to her as she was pulling some crates and a tattered mattress together.

"Thank you."

Those words were small and vulnerable, but they were heartfelt and powerful.

Something in Rey softened as well. The fight went out of her shoulders, and a small smile of relief melted onto her face.

"You're welcome."

Those words touched something inside him more deeply than he could have imagined, making that warm feeling grow. He silently helped her make up the rest of the bed. In that silence, though, something was exchanged, some foreign feeling.

Those two words echoed in his head as he settled onto it and let the darkness take him.


	4. Keep It Sweet, Keep It Slow

_The rain falls around him. He can hear the sizzling of the water droplets hitting the fiery red blade. It's strangely quiet, after the screams which echo in the Force. He stumbles unsteadily from the feeling that seemed to be eating him up inside along with the screaming._

 _He can see the smiles, sense the sick pleasure in the others, but he doesn't care about any of that. The rain makes him feel like he's drowning, and instead of washing it away it just makes him feel slimy, makes him feel the blood even more. He hates the rain._

* * *

He awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He looked around in a panic, forgetting where he was. The first thing that registered in his vision was Rey in the glimmers and shadows. He became then quite quickly aware of her warm hand on his shoulder, and finally heard her voice over a thundering heartbeat and heavy breaths.

"You're alright now," she had said softly. "It's alright, it's not real."

"No," he whispered hoarsely. No matter what anyone said about it just being a dream, he knew that it was a little more than that. One of his deeper memories, always present in his sub-conscience.

"What happened?" She asked.

"What?" He looked at her as she clicked on a dim light so he could see her face a little better. Instead of anger at him waking her up or anything like that that he sometimes got during the lonely nights in the bunks of the Mal'ary'ush. Just worry and what was that word? Compassion.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked as she tucked a dark strand behind her ear.

He was about to tell her to shut up and butt off, and to keep out of his head, when a little crack found itself in his defenses. Wouldn't it be nice to talk to someone? The Knights of Ren would hate hearing it, but Rey. . .

"Just a memory, years and years ago," he admitted, even as a part of him screamed within that he was spilling this secret out to this girl, some random stranger. "Part of the training of the Knights of Ren-"

He stopped-he'd never told her about the Knights of Ren.

"Who are they?" She asked out of burning curiosity. She wanted to hear about the outside world.

Kylo cursed under his breath. "They are the new Sith Order, they follow the figure of Darth Vader-"

"You're Sith?" Rey shrieked in horror, and her hand jerked to her side as if she were afraid of being tainted by the darkness.

"They aren't as bad as everyone-"

"They brought the galaxy into ruin and killed lots of people!" She snarled. "I've heard the stories."

"We're not quite the same," he amended hastily. He didn't know why he wanted the girl's favor. "They just-"

"That wasn't a hydrospanner, was it?" Rey interrupted as her mind darted all over the place as she connected the clues. She snatched up the "hydrospanner" that they had pulled out, and looking inside the hollow part. She then pulled it away from her face and turned it on before Kylo could stop her. The red blade sparked to life.

"Red, I should've guessed," she said.

"Put it down, you're going to take your hand off," he snapped.

"So you can hurt someone with it? I don't think so!"

He had no idea how or why her words hurt so much, why they seemed to cut so deeply inside. Something broke down inside with that icy stab.

"I'm guessing you're a fan of the Jedi, then," he said icily as he propped himself up on his elbows. "Luke Skywalker fangirl? You sure seem to be following his path."

"As much as I do enjoy those stories, I prefer legends of the Old Republic," Rey admitted evenly as she turned off the lightsaber and kept her hand over it for good measure. "Stories of Revan, Naomi Sunrider, Meetra Surik, Jedi like that."

"You do realize they weren't as much of the white knights as the legends make them out to be, right?" He demanded. "They were against love, and they were responsible for the Clone Wars!"

"They weren't perfect," she admitted with a shrug. "But they certainly have a better track record than the Sith."

There was silence.

"That was cruel, wasn't it?" She finally said. "I'm sorry, I just- they always tell me that I'm naive, I see the world in black and white, and one of these days I'm going to get myself killed on some damned idealistic fool crusade."

She set the lightsaber down, and got back on her knees beside him. "I just know of evil and good, and I'm sorry, but Sith organizations seem to be the root of a lot of evil."

Kylo found his resolve crumbling at how her whole appearance seemed to say "kick me" and how pitiful her face was. Besides, he was a fool not to see it earlier. Her Force signature was blinding with light.

But what could he say really?

"You're not like the rest of the Knights of Ren, are you?" She asked, cocking her head. "There's something about you. . ." She shook her head.

"I. . ." For a second time, he found himself at a loss of words.

"Besides, I shouldn't be judging you so quickly," she added.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything," he told her. The words had slipped out, but somehow, he was okay with those ones coming out. He didn't completely understand it, but he wanted her approval, he wanted her trust. He wanted her friendship, he realized with a jolt.

"But tell me about your dream," she said after a minute, bringing the conversation full-circle.

He hesitated for a moment, but then he found himself telling her every word. Rey just listened, and nodded, her face full of genuine sympathy. And she was right. It helped, a lot, getting some of it off of his chest. He didn't explain what had happened, but just what was in the dream. She didn't need to know all of it.

It was the first time he'd ever encountered someone like her. Someone who wanted to listen, someone who cared about people she had just met. He wished that he'd known more people like that, and wanted to be friends with her. Friends. Such a strange word to him.

Kylo realized that he'd stopped talking, and she was just staring at him with an expression hard to read. He couldn't read her thoughts either, only could sense her light.

She had listened to every word and had picked up on guilt and fear. She was rethinking her naive, childish judgements. While she still believed that the Knights of Ren weren't at all good news, she realized that maybe the boy in front of her wasn't all bad. It might have been her hero complex, something that the other villagers scoffed at, but she wanted to be friends with the monster.

"Why did you do any of what led to that?" Rey asked.

"It's not like I had a choice," he admitted in a low voice that was about to crack.

Her heart hurt for him then and there. She wrapped her arms around him as best she could with their situation. Kylo was surprised as to how much he felt like he needed it. He'd never really experienced a hug before, except in those far-off golden memories that were some fairytale from another kid's life. It was nice, he'd decided.


	5. Your Love is Where I'm Falling

It took Rey a minute to remember why she was in the arms of the boy she had rescued the day before when she awoke. It all came back to her in flashes. She could see that his face was much calmer than it was in the middle of the night. Before, she had heard little vulnerable shrieks and whimpers that had awoken her due to her pitying nature.

Both times, he looked so vulnerable, but before there was so much guilt wound into his face that she could sense it from the other side of the AT-AT. She wasn't sure he'd like it much, her watching him, so she slipped out of the embrace without waking him, and began using her shower minutes to get ready. She'd use only five out of ten, it would make things a little easier for him. Besides, that was fair, right?

When she stepped out, she saw him propped up on his elbows, looking a little lost. She walked over to him as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, out of her face for the worksite.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He shook his head, and his face moved into a serious, emotionless mask.

"You weren't there, I didn't-" he cut himself off. Don't be so sentimental, he chided.

"Well, you have five shower minutes. I just need to get ready for my job," she said. "I'm probably going to have to take you along, so don't take too long."

He nodded and walked into the fresher. Rey went to the cabinet to see how she was going to split the last of her rations before she'd pick up the daily pack for the rest of the day and the next morning. She refrained from water just yet, she'd wait until the sun got up higher and she'd been working hard.

Besides, she also had another person to be looking after now. She also had just gotten the medical supplies that the medic had given her when Kylo practically ran out. The comb had been jerked through barely wet curls, and Rey looked down to her watch.

"You were only in there for two minutes," she said, confused. "You have three left, if you want."

"I. . . I got done what needed to be," he said, turning a little pink.

Rey studied him for a moment. "It's a shower," she realized. "A lot like rain. . . You don't like showers, do you? Reminds you of your nightmare, doesn't it?"

There was a stronger blush and a nod.

"Well, don't get embarrassed around me. I just want to understand you better," she said. "Now sit down. We've got to replace the bandages on your hands, and around where you managed to cut yourself with your lightsaber."

He did as he was told and obediently sat down as she started tending to the wounds.

"I take it you have a lot of experience?" He asked.

"Yes," she answered without looking up. "The medic used to raise me, taught me all he knew. He would've continued to stay with me, but the Vicar wanted him closer to town, and at eleven I was determined self-sufficient enough to live on my own."

"What happened to your parents? All the others are living with theirs," he noticed.

"My parents died during the crash, I was told," she said. "I don't know anything about them really. They refused to tell me anything as a child. I'm no one, though, so I guess it doesn't matter."

"You're an orphan, too?" The words slipped out before he could filter them. Now he sounded like an idiot.

"Wait, you mean you don't know your parents?" Rey asked, and she finally looked up from his hands as she finished up.

"I don't. I might not even have memories of them," he admitted.

"Might?" She raised an eyebrow as she replaced the strip over his chest.

"Sometimes I have these golden memories of this water-world, but I think it might be just a dream," he confessed. "Something my mind made up, just to make things easier."

"I'm sure it's wonderful, being a child in the Si- I mean, Knights of Ren," Rey said sarcastically.

"Just about as wonderful as it is to have your life," he said honestly.

She looked taken aback by it. Had he really thought that her life was something horrible? Had she complained that much?

"I'm sorry, have I been com-"

He held a finger to her lips. "You say sorry too much," he said with a faint smile on his face. "No, it's just what I observe."

Rey blushed as she finished her work. "You can put your shirt back on now," she said in a small voice.

"Why all the blushing, scavenger? Like what you see?" He asked.

"No!" She said a little too quickly and her face went to red.

He smirked as he put back on the sand-colored shirt. "So, you said I have to follow you to work?"

"Yes, they want me to babysit you," she said. She started towards the door and stopped. She looked back at him. Despite the somewhat merry mood earlier, he was looking down at his burned, bandaged hands with a defeated look on his face.

"Hey," she said softly. "Does it hurt really bad?"

Without waiting for his answer, she sat down in front of him, and took his hands into hers.

"A kiss to make it better?" She asked. "You look like you could use a good kiss."

She then leaned not to his hands but to his face, and she kissed him. His lips tasted of something cold and sweet, like the rare treat that was ice, or maybe this was what snow tasted like. Not that she'd ever known.

Kylo wanted her, wanted it just as much. This was his first kiss. He pulled away, frightened. If he continued to get this attached, if the Knights of Ren found her, they would destroy her. She reminded him of the flowers that used to grow outside his bedroom window, golden lilies. Full of light, and oh-so beautiful. But when he'd mentioned them to Kira Ren, one of the other trainees, only four years older than he, and the next morning they had disappeared. He later had discovered that they had been destroyed because he had affection towards them.

"I have to go," he said in a voice more icy than he would've liked, and he ran away. He didn't know where, but he had to get away. He couldn't fall her, for her sake. He had to be strong. But if he was being strong, why did he feel so weak?


	6. Run Far Away Where I Can Breathe

As she worked that day, her mind swirled around. Why did he pull away? Why was he so terrified? She _liked_ him, as short as his time with her had been. She knew she shouldn't be feeling anything, but she wanted it. She was lonely. No one except for the medic loved her, and even he was always distant. She wanted someone to love, someone who loved her, was that so wrong?

"Good work, Rey," the overseer said. "Make sure to bring your haul tomorrow. He needs to learn how to work here."

"I will," she lied, and she walked away as fast as she could. She hopped on her bike and sped off to the AT-AT. She chained her bike and went inside. The lights were off, and the rooms looked empty.

"Kylo?" She cried. "Kylo?"

No answer.

She crept over to the fresher door and cracked it open. No one was in there. After a quick search, she discovered that he wasn't in there. His shoes were still on the floor, like they had been in the morning.

"Oh no," Rey murmured to herself as she peeked out. Sure enough, there were still the footprints from the morning. She could only see the footprints for miles. She didn't see any leading to the marketplace or the center of town. Rey went to her cabinet and grabbed all of her remaining water bottles, a grand total of three. She hopped back onto her speeder bike and hoped that she wouldn't be too late.

* * *

General Hux stood in the Star Destroyer as they overlooked Endor. There was an uncharted planet nearby that was quickly becoming the center of their attention. He was feeling a strange twinge, like his insides were being eaten from within. Perhaps it was because he'd failed to save Kylo Ren.

He'd always had a soft side for the boy, not much younger than him, but young enough that he hadn't become a man quite yet. Hux hated how soft he made him. Even though the boy definitely didn't regard him with the same softness. Their relationship was complicated. He was his wingman, often enough, and they were friends, in their stabbing way, seeing how they could wound each other with icy daggers of words.

He was feeling _bad_ about the fact that he couldn't save him from getting shot down by Poe Dameron, couldn't find him. Still, he took pleasure in that they had taken the great Poe Dameron captive. He would make that man _pay_ for what he did to his friend. He smiled at the thought, and stared out at the planet. They would send a Knight of Ren out to find him there, and he would be back on the bridge in no time, arguing with him and finding new ways to hurt each other.

That was how he liked it.

* * *

She found him lying semi-conscious in the sand. The sun was starting to set yet again. She braked sharply and hopped off of the bike. She stumbled on her footing, and fell right next to him in the sand. The excess cloth had been used to protect him from sunburn, she was glad to see, but it covered his face.

She pulled it up to see his eyes half-open and unfocused. Some focus returned when her face came into view.

"Kylo, can you hear me?" She asked softly. "Kylo!"

"I. . . I can hear you," he mumbled, slurring his words together.

She cursed under her breath and freed a water bottle. "I need you to drink this. All of it. Come on, Kylo."

He took it, and drained it eagerly in five seconds flat. He was still unfocused however. He went back to lying in the sand. Rey touched a hand to his face. He was burning up!

"Come on, we've got to get up," she said. "Come on."

"Do you care about me?" He asked, in an almost dreamlike state.

"Cripes," she cursed. "Kylo, of course I care, but please, listen to me! I know this is the most cruel thing to ask you, but you've got to get up. Come on, give me a little help."

He ignored her, seeing things that only he could. "You probably hate me. You'd hate me if you knew what I've done. I deserve to die."

"I don't hate you," Rey said fervently. "You don't deserve to die. Stop talking like that and get up, or so help me."

"Do you really care?" He asked, still dazed.

"Yes, I care, that's why I'm trying to help you," she snapped. "Come on, please. Cripes, I'm just trying to help you. Why won't you listen to me?"

She was surprised when his hand reached up for her face. It was weakly tugging her closer and closer. She could see flecks of green and amber in his brown eyes, they were so close.

Much to her surprise, he kissed her. It was quick, but seemed to imprint itself on her soul. He fell limply to the ground. Rey groaned in frustration, and worked on lifting him into the cargo netting. She then hopped onto the speeder bike, and headed home.

* * *

Kylo was much more lucid in the AT-AT.

"What were you thinking?" Rey scolded as she checked his feet over for injuries. "You could've died out there!"

"I couldn't stay here," he told her in a hollow, empty voice. He refused to look at her, which infuriated Rey.

"Why not?" She demanded as she handed him a cold cloth, and helped him press it to his forehead. "You don't have anywhere else to go."

"You couldn't possibly understand," he hissed, shaking his head.

"Try me, Sith boy," she said. He looked away quickly from her burning gaze.

"I cannot continue to get attached to you!" He snapped. "If you get attached, all it ever leads to is pain and sorrow."

"Where did you learn that?" Rey asked.

He finally did look at her with a pained look. "Everything good, everything beautiful in my life, it's been destroyed. I don't want you to be destroyed."

There was a heavy pause.

"You mean. . ." she trailed off. "You mean you think that I'm beautiful?"

He blinked and looked down, completely silent.

"Fine, I see how it is. I try to be kind, again and again! Look, I'm sorry if I was wrong to make a move on you, but you made a move on me! I'm sorry that I want someone to love me, somebody to love! I'm sorry that I'm so kriffing lonely, that I just want _someone_ in my life! I'm sorry that you have to show up and get stuck into it!"

She found herself crying, even though she hated it, hated how weak it made her feel. Her knees buckled, and she was on the ground, sobbing. She twisted her arms around herself in attempt to find some sort of comfort. Rey felt cold and alone, more alone than ever.

"I'm sorry that I want something for myself," she finally said quietly, blinded by her tears. What surprised her was the presence of the warm body pressed close to hers, the arms of someone else around her. She hadn't felt those sensations since she was very small, and never with someone so soft, someone who wasn't half-metal.

He was surprised himself that he was holding her. He kept telling himself that he shouldn't be doing it, that he shouldn't be letting himself get any closer, but she had said something that had hit very close to home. Despite that he didn't want one more beautiful thing destroyed because of him, he was just as lonely as she was. He did want a real friend in his life, not the one that shot at him like Hux, not one that was as cold as ice like Phasma, or the excuses of friends he had in the Knights of Ren, like Kira Ren and Ulic Ren.

That didn't stop tears of his own from falling. He barely had the moisture to do it, but he was finding himself crying with her. He was always told that it was a sign of weakness, but it was therapeutic for both of them.

She was the first to come out of it. Her fingers reached out and gently brushed away the rest of his tears. She then rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Thank you."

Who knew that those two words were so piercing?


	7. You've Got Me Smiling in My Sleep

The next day, she brought him along with her to the worksite, as instructed. She just had him watch her tether, make sure that she was tied on strongly enough. Kylo was a little more friendly with her, trying to at least be what could pass for nice.

"Try not to fall so fast this time," he warned as he tightened the rope to the post. Rey just laughed, a melodious laugh that was like water on this desert planet. Before he could reply, she jumped down wordlessly.

She loved the fall. She loved the feeling of flight, the dread in her stomach, the scream of her nerves, and the freedom of her mind as the world rushed around her. She let the rope unfurl, enjoying the ride to the bottom as she waited for the jerk that would end her wild ride.

Kylo watched and panicked as he saw the rope start to uncurl from around the post that was supposed to be securing her. His hands darted out to try to pull it up, but the pulling of the ropes irritated the burns underneath the bandages, and he gasped in pain as he let go.

She was tumbling faster, with no idea that she was falling for the last time.

He reached out in the Force, and focused on making contact with her, stopping her in midair, and pulling her up, slowly, gently.

She gasped as she hit what felt like a floor- her eyes snapped open. She was hovering in midair, and was starting to slowly rise. It was a strange sensation, and it frightened her. What was going on?

She was set down in front of Kylo on the side of the Star Destroyer.

"You did this? There's no way," she said in disbelief.

"Of course I did," he replied, a bit miffed. "It's the Force."

"But the Force is just a myth!" She protested.

"You believe in the Jedi and the Sith," he pointed out.

"It's true that they exist," she said as she sat up. "But they just believe in a hokey old religion."

He stared at her for a minute. "Your lack of faith is disturbing."

She shrugged. "Still, whatever it is you did to save me, thanks."

"Anytime, Scavenger Princess."

He didn't see her smile.

* * *

Shira Ren paced the length of the interrogation cell. This prisoner was proving to be very hard to penetrate. General Hux already reported that he had resisted the probes, and she had been called in. Even though she had used her. . . _Methods_ several times, he had only screamed for her.

She turned to Poe Dameron, trying to make sure her frustration didn't show.

"I ask you again," she said in an ominous voice. "WHERE IS THE REBEL BASE?"

Lightning surged out of her fingers, _black_ lightning. A bit different than Palpatine's, but it still matched close enough to her mentor. Poe screamed, but it didn't show as much as it should have.

With a fury, she realized that he was somehow shielding himself from her. This was no ordinary man, she was figuring out fast. She would have to consult Snoke on how to interrogate from here.

"FN-2187!" She shouted, and a stormtrooper whose fear she could feel oozing off of him. He snapped to attention and stepped forward with shaky steps.

"Take the prisoner to his cell," she ordered coldly.

He nodded wordlessly, and took Poe Dameron away as quickly as possible. She turned to Hux, who started.

"I will be back once I have consulted with our leader," she said. "When will you be sending Kira Ren down to the surface of the planet you believe Kylo Ren to have landed on?"

"I-It will be done as soon as we have a ship ready, Lady Ren," he said, barely able to keep eye contact with her intense yellow eyes.

"Good," Shira replied in an icy voice. "Your thoughts betray you and your feelings for our missing Knight, General."

She could feel the fear, could feel his heart racing, and a predatory smile spread across her pale face as she exited the room. She began down the corridor to communicate with Supreme Leader Snoke.

* * *

Rey began working on fixing things for the market and began running her errands. She sighed as she saw the sky with the tempting blue calling to her. Her shoulders slumped as she worked on the parts so maybe one day she could get her own ship, or make it, and she could leave.

A boy of seventeen, the colony bully by the name of Jovi walked up to her canvas-covered work area. Kylo stiffened at the thoughts that were coming off of Jovi.

"I see you're being useless, as always, dreaming about stupid things like space," he taunted. "Why don't you get up and do something, like maybe entertain me and a few of the boys."

An anger flashed in her eyes. "I'm quite fine being useless," she said through gritted teeth.

"Don't tell me you've finally found someone. Like anyone would want a plain thing like you," he drawled.

"Hey!" Kylo barked. "Talk to her with a little more respect, or I will _end_ you, do you understand?"

"Really, Rayna?" Jovi demanded. "Did you really choose the boy who crash-landed on the planet and has no choice but to be with you. Man, you must be desperate."

"Not as desperate as you'd like to think," she said in a quiet voice, and she looked down to the engine she was rebuilding.

"Stand down," Kylo ordered.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Jovi sneered.

As if to answer, Kylo activated his trisaber. The fiery blades sparked to life, and Jovi paled visibly in fear.

"J-Just a trick of the light," he protested, mostly to himself.

"Oh, you haven't heard of the stories of Darth Vader?" He snarled, stepping forwards. "Because they're true. _All_ of them."

"Kylo, _no_!" Rey jumped to her feet and stepped between the fiery blade and Jovi.

"Move out of the way, Rey," Kylo ordered, in an irritated and furious voice that usually got results.

"No, you'll get into huge trouble. I think you've scared him badly enough. Put the lightsaber down!" She cried.

"He insulted you!" He shot back.

She just shook her head in reply. "You'll have to cut through me first."

For a moment, Kylo hesitated. But then the blade died, and Rey relaxed. She turned to Jovi. "Go along and bother somebody else for a while. _Go_!"

The boy ran off without a second thought.

Kylo stared at her. "I-I-"

"Save it," she snapped, as she returned to her work. "I don't want to talk to you."

He stared down at the rusted, ragged lightsaber that he'd made on his own. A junk-saber, if he were to be honest with himself. What had he done? He felt like he was constantly walking a thin line with her. Sometimes she would be cold, and sometimes she irritated him, but sometimes she was alright. He wanted it to be alright between them again.

He sat down next to her, as she actively ignored him. He just waited, until a sigh of exasperation escaped her pink lips. She looked a lot like the old holos of Padmé Amidala, Kylo realized with a jolt. She looked over to him.

"What do you want?" She demanded.

Before he could answer or she could change her mind, he grabbed her gently by the chin and kissed her. Rey was shocked by the action, and found her hands leaving the machines and tangling into his hair.

She felt tension leaving her, and a warm feeling spread into her. It had been a long time since she had felt loved or wanted, and as stupid as it was, she wanted to be wanted. It was just coincidental that she wanted him.

* * *

The Vicar stared at the new couple from inside the darkened room made from an old shuttle. He had seen that lightsaber, and an old fear had awakened inside of him. The last time he'd seen a saber like that. . . He shuddered. Thirty years ago, stationed on Endor, he had seen Vader once, with that terrifying red lightsaber. It had haunted his nightmares afterwards, and he remembered the Force vividly.

He loved the Empire, he'd gladly say that, but he was grateful when Vader was gone. Force-sensitives made him nervous. In the absence of them for the past nineteen years, the others had forgotten, and the children didn't believe in the Sith or Jedi, or even the Force. Rey believed most of it, although like her famous father, she believed the Force was just religion.

The Vicar paced within. The young man was violent, and he could be a danger to them all. He remembered watching Vader choke an officer that had failed him. He could now visualize the same happening, starting with him.

He let the curtain swing close. He would do everything in his power to get rid of this dark-sider before harm could come to the Jakku settlement.


	8. I Can See This Unraveling

Kylo thought he was in Heaven, if the Corellians were right about that. Or the Nubians, for that matter. A pretty girl, and a place that was safe for a little while. Of course, he was on his guard. They'd be looking for him, and wouldn't just let him go. That was his life, wasn't it? A bunch of people deciding for him what he wanted.

He propped himself up on his elbows as he woke in a cold sweat yet again from a perfect nightmare horror film of all his worst childhood memories had played in a loop with the laughter of Snoke in the background.

He looked over to Rey, lying there, innocent and dreaming of something grander than herself, dreaming of Jedi, if he knew her nearly as well as he dared think he was. He brushed a dark lock out of her face, but she did not stir, other than the steady rise and fall of her chest.

It was tempting to walk away now, before the other Knights of Ren found out about her. She was beautiful, something precious and full of light. He was selfish enough to want that for himself, but he didn't want to be the reason for yet another source of light and beauty to be destroyed. Even if he came willingly to them, and if she surrendered with them, she would be killed by them, or worse, he would have to do the job himself. He couldn't stand the idea, and his skin crawled at the very thought.

He also didn't feel good enough for her. He was immune to the light, but she seemed immune to darkness, for she was a burning brand to her enemies, and a brilliant fire to her friend. Even though she stood alone, he took comfort in the shadow she cast.

But then he saw her small smile, and felt her reach for him. It was a tiny gesture, but then and there he knew that he couldn't leave her even if he tried. She needed him, as much reminding as it took for him to remember that. After being alone for eight years, abandoned as a little girl and constantly reminded that she wasn't loved, she wanted to be wanted. He provided that for her, and he was grateful to give her something, even if it was a small thing like companionship.

Kylo settled back down, and hugged the small, tough girl close to his body. He wouldn't let her go, even if she was the death of him. He now understood why Vader was willing to give everything for the former queen of Naboo and senator. He understood the feeling perfectly.

Finn walked down the corridor of the Star Destroyer with his blaster pointed at Poe

* * *

Dameron's ribs. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd been shaken by what he had seen. That ally of that crazy Ren guy, Kylo, she was insane. He thought the ability to make lightning was a myth, and the Force was some stupid religion to explain the natural luckiness of some people (easily something he was jealous of) but apparently, he was very wrong.

He turned down to cell 187, and was about to leave Poe Dameron in there, when he spoke up.

"You gonna leave me in here?" The protege of Wedge Antilles called out.

Finn tried to back away, but the tortured look in the man's eyes had a hold on him.

"Listen, I know you aren't like the rest of them. I know you want out. I can feel it," he murmured.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked.

"You have a heart, you don't like it. You saw how crazy she is. If you can get me out of here, I'll let you come along, and I'll vouch for you in the Alliance," Poe promised.

Finn started to breathe heavy. "I don't know what to do!" He protested.

"Well, figure something out fast," Poe said. "The clock's ticking on my life."

* * *

Rey got up early in the morning, as she usually did. It was a pleasant surprise, awaking to someone holding her. She slipped out, and started her routine. When she came out, her ponytail dripping, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and a mischievous grin.

A smile spread across his face, something that brought a little more joy to her heart. She liked making people happy. It awakened far-off memories off in her mind, with a feeling to it, a pair of blue eyes, a snarky male voice, and a presence of a lady in white who held her and sang lullabies.

The little melody sprang from her lips. She didn't know the words, but she hummed the song, following it deeper and deeper into the flow of the memories. She closed her eyes, picturing the inside of a ship and the feeling of warm fur and growls that mingled lovingly with the humming.

"Where did you learn that?" Kylo asked. He recognized the tune from old Alderaanian lullabies, something that the Jakku parents, or at least their orphan, should've had no knowledge of.

She ignored him as images flashed in front of her, for she was completely gone, lost in the music that was bringing it all back to her. Words were coming back, and the man was about to say her name-

 _"Jaina-"_

There was a loud knock at the door, and her dark eyes flashed open. A tear started to bead up in the corner of her eye. She knew that her memory was of her mother, she knew it! She was a little closer to finding out where she came from, but before she could hear her full name, she had been cut off. It was so frustrating!

But still, she was so sure her name was Rayna all these years. Was it really Jaina all this time? Who was she really?

The knocking persisted.

"Rey. . . " She'd never heard Kylo sound that scared outside of those dark hours of nightmares that she comforted him during.

She whipped around, and opened the door to see what looked like the entire village out in front of the AT-AT. The Vicar was at the center, a mix of terror and authority in his face. Wait-no, he didn't look terrified. But she could feel it.

Rey didn't have time to remain confused over it. The Vicar stepped closer.

"Where is the young man by the name of Kylo Ren?" He demanded.

Right on cue, he stepped into the doorway behind Rey, his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber.

"We are taking him into custody for the safety of the settlement of Jakku," the Vicar said, and two guards tried to take him, but they were pushed back and held at bay with the Force.

"What? Why?" Rey asked, trying to stall for time.

"He attacked an innocent boy," the Vicar argued.

"He was merely threatening Jovi, who was harassing me," she corrected. "He didn't actually lay a hand on him, and nothing will come of it."

"He still was threatening the peace that we have worked for nineteen years to achieve and maintain," he replied sharply. "Rey, we can't have him running around and threatening people."

"He won't!" Rey promised, some desperate monster awakening within her. She couldn't lose the one person that she knew still truly cared about her. She just couldn't! That hole, from being abandoned as a baby, to being left by the medic just because of the Vicar's orders, and now the threat of another loss, more loneliness on the horizon, it made her full of a strong emotion.

"He won't, I promise!" She repeated in a shriek, pushing Kylo behind her as more guards ran at her, and she tried to beat them off, and reached for her staff slung on her shoulder. "Just leave him alone, please! Please! I can't be alone again! Please!" She dropped to her knees when one of them tried to hit her, and she started to sob as the emptiness threatened to overwhelm her.

Then the lightsaber flared to life. The guards darted away, and her breath became heavier.

" _Kylo, no,_ " she exhaled. She had to, she had to. . .

He looked down at her, and for once, she could understand why he would have been a good soldier, a good Sith. There was a terrifying imperiousness to his countenance that only softened for a second upon seeing her.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said in a low, menacing voice that commanded attention. "I am staying right here, and you will leave us be."

"Who are you to tell us what to be doing?" The Vicar stammered in attempt to regain control of a situation that was spiraling into chaos.

"I am Kylo Ren, Heir to Darth Vader, and if you are all former Imperials, the predecessors to the First Order, you are by First Order law bound to serve me as your leader. Besides, some of you may remember the legends of Darth Vader- the stories are true, despite the thirty years that the galaxy has been without him," he explained. "Would anyone prefer to challenge my authority?"

Jovi and some of the other village boys exchanged looks but said nothing.

"Then that will be all, you are dismissed."

To their own surprise, the villagers left. Then again, they all did know the stories of Darth Vader and his ability to choke people without touching them, his ability to wield energy-blades, and his ramblings about "the Force". An heir to Vader was not one to mess with.

Kylo waited a moment to make sure that they were all gone, and he deactivated the lightsaber. He looked down to Rey, who still had tears on her face. He got down on his knees and looked at her.

"I won't be leaving you Rey, ever," he promised. "I think I love you."

"I know," she replied with a small sob.


	9. You've Got Me Laughing While I Sing

"The Supreme Leader has been waiting for you, Inquisitor Ren," the chrome trooper said in her maddeningly calm and regal voice. Kira blinked. She hadn't known that Supreme Leader Snoke had already been on connection.

"Lead the way, Captain Phasma," Kira said with an admirable lack of irritation and fear in her voice, despite the way the female stormtrooper's voice and emotionless demeanor made her skin crawl.

Kira entered a room alone, and stepped onto the circle in a kneeling position, much like Lord Vader used to when he talked to the Emperor. Snoke's snakelike face appeared just barely from under the hood in a blue scale.

"My lord," she said in a reverent tone. "I will do as you please."

"Ah, my dear Kira," he said in his deep, grumbling voice after snakelike laughter that sounded like the Tatooine rattlesnake's rattling. "So eager to please. I do have a task for you, of course."

"I will complete in the glorious name of Darth Vader and the Knights of Ren," she vowed through gritted teeth.

"Very good, my inquisitor. Our general, little Kylo, he has been missing. The First Order has informed me that they believe they have located the planet he crashed on. I want you to go and retrieve him," he ordered.

"He is one of us, my lord," she reminded him as she licked her lips out of nervous habit. "He will surely come with just a stormtrooper."

"Come now," Snoke's voice became dangerously sweet. "You remember his training, do you not, dear Kira? He may get the idea in his head that he is free from us and may think it wise to desert."

Kira winced at the memories of how difficult it was to train and break him as a boy. "I will find him milord, and I will bring him back alive."

"Good, good," Snoke crooned. "You are dismissed, Inquisitor Ren."

Kira nodded, and knelt as the transmission ended. She got back up, and exited to where Captain Phasma was waiting for her. The inhumanly icy woman nodded.

"Did your communication go as planned? It was cut off quite soon," the female trooper noted.

"Everything is fine," Kira assured her through gritted teeth. "Take my request to the hangar bay. I want a TIE-fighter ready by the time I exit my conference. Is that understood, trooper?"

Despite the regality of the ice woman, she made no physical response, just nodded and marched away. Kira gave an irritated, spastic shriek that earned her disturbed feelings in the Force from the other troopers. She calmed herself, and she sashayed into a conference of the upper circle of the Knights of Ren.

* * *

Business in Jakku continued as usual, except for that no one approached within ten feet of Kylo, and Rey was treated with a distant respect. Although one did notice the boys of the village gathering with whispers.

It was in the canvas tent where Rey worked that she began to pick up on something. Kylo was back at the AT-AT, for he had learned when to just leave her be. Sometimes, she needed to be alone to think.

She could hear things, but when she closed her eyes, she could hear something very soft, almost like thoughts-

 _Thank the Force he isn't here._

 _We need to get the plan together._

 _The sooner he's gone, the sooner things can get back to the way they were before._

 _Why does she protect him? She's stupid-_

Rey jerked out when the overwhelming darkness came into her reverie, and she felt cold. What was she feeling? She rubbed her arms even though they were covered with the light, coarse clothing that kept sand out.

She looked up to see Kylo coming towards her. She was used to his serious expressions, but that didn't explain why the cold seemed to be timed perfectly to his arrival.

"How are you?" She asked as she tried to shake off the effects of her sixth sense.

"Alright," he answered, but Rey knew the words to be at least a half-lie. "And you are?"

"I'm just fine," she said, ignoring her lingering feelings.

He sat down in front of her, and almost magically those boys drifted away like the holos of flocks of birds. He watched her hands move over the mechanics of the engine that was always her long-term project. If she could just get a working engine, fixing up one of the fighters, or even whatever was left of Kylo's command shuttle, he had told her it was called, into a working ship that could get her off this Force-forsaken rock.

She hesitated with the copper wiring. If she could get this to work, she'd be one step closer to getting off of Jakku. She touched the wires, but the engine did not respond in her experiment. She groaned and hit her head against the table.

"Ow," she groaned. She looked up, grabbed her wrench, and whacked the crapsack engine with her wrench due to frustration. She was about to whack it again when the wrench was taken right out of her hands. It hovered in midair and set itself down on the table.

"Are you okay?" Kylo asked.

"You did that," Rey accused. "With your hokey religion."

"The Force," he corrected her. "And yes. Why did you get so angry?"

She sighed, and set her head down on folded arms. "All I've wanted is to leave. I feel like it's impossible. I was meant to go other places, I know this in my heart, Kylo. I was meant to do something, something more than myself. I've wanted to leave to be loved, to do something."

Her eyes looked to the sky. "I've dreamed of four people waiting for me, and that the people across the galaxy would cheer, like I'm a missing princess or something. One of them was a Wookie, he was soft to hug and he'd growl to a melody that a woman in white would sing. . ." She trailed off as a tear trickled down her cheek. "Kylo, I think that woman was my mother. I also would hear my father telling me to that he loved me just as much as some falcon. Then there was this blond man in black, and he told me to trust the Force."

She bowed her head. "I know it's a stupid dream, but I always see it playing in front of my eyes."

Kylo was at a loss for words. He took Rey's hands into his own, and she looked up at him, tears still dripping down her smooth cheeks. He leaned closer and kissed them away. He pulled away, her dark eyes intent on him.

"I'll help you get there, Rey," he promised. Her dream had stirred something within him, his own longings for a family, his own dreams about a brother in that golden world, always laughing, and parents that smiled sadly and told him he'd understand in a haunted chorus. "Someday, you'll leave Jakku, and we'll-"

He stopped. He couldn't got back to the First Order, or they'd destroy Rey, and he'd be something even more shattered and darkened than he was before. Even for a few days, a week, really, being exposed to her light was enough to change him. That, and her affection, her kindly company. He could never go back to the life he'd led before. That would be too painful to bear.

"Someday," he began again as he heard his voice crack. "Someday we'll find a place of our own, just the two of us."

"That sounds nice," she remarked. "But the two of us, maybe a family, galavanting across the galaxy in a large-enough ship. . . Sounds like paradise."

"It does," he agreed as he got up, walked around the table, and sat down beside her as he reclaimed her hands. "Mostly because you're there."

She smiled and kissed him.


	10. I'm Terrified of What You Do

Poe Dameron paced the length of his holding cell. His heart was beating fast, faster than it usually did in the cockpit of his X-wing in battle formation with the rest of the Black Squadron.

Moments in his life seemed to flash by him every few minutes, of his parents, of his mentor, of his comrades. If that stormtrooper, FN-2187, didn't come through, he was going to never see them again.

He wasn't one to cry, but the idea almost made him do so. His family was down on Endor. Would they know what became of their son? Would his little sister understand what made him do it? He remembered how they had argued before he had joined the Resistance, and how she demanded why he should go and fight when their parents had played their part so many years ago during the Battle of Endor.

He closed his eyes and pictured their last happy day together before he'd left for Yavin IV to join the Resistance. The sun was shining that day, brighter than any star before.

The door opened. He didn't bother to open his eyes for what was probably his firing squad, as a stormtrooper roughly grabbed his arm. He expected to be forced onto his knees, and would hear a click, and it would be all over.

Instead, he was forced to walk.

 _Where are they taking me?_

He wondered that in echoes as he was escorted down the corridors of the Star Destroyer _Mal'ary'ush_. He finally worked up the courage to open his eyes. He was going towards the hangar! It was the stormtrooper whom he had begged to save him! The trooper moved quickly and on the edges, keeping out of everyone's way and as much in the shadows as you could in the bright standard lighting of the hallways.

He was pushed towards a TIE-fighter with red paint.

"Wait! Isn't that Poe Dameron?" The supervisor, who they had somehow gotten past without detection, had cried. Every blaster in the room was trained on the two of them.

"Go!" FN-2187 ordered, and he fired as Poe scrambled into the cockpit of the TIE-fighter. The stormtrooper got inside, and pulled off his helmet to reveal a young, dark face that was shell-shocked.

"The name's Finn, and I'm in charge now," he said. "You take the back, Dameron, I'll try to fly us out."

Poe nodded and got in the gunner's seat and started firing. He couldn't see very well, though, but he could see a flurry of glowing bullets, so he tried to fire in that direction as they began to disappear from view. The TIE-fighter sped up, and was starting to spiral like crazy.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He yelled at Finn.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Finn replied angrily as they continued closer to a desert world.

* * *

Kira Ren was delayed due to the hangar being destroyed by some renegade trooper who had decided to rescue Poe Dameron. She growled at the thought. _Master will not be pleased._

She clenched her fists around her lightsabers and stormed to the conference of where Traya Ren and Ulic Ren were waiting for her.

The older Echani woman with the light-whip was waiting for.

"Hello, Kira," she said coolly. "I see your flight got canceled."

"Well you tell me what I was supposed to do about it!" Kira hissed angrily. That was no way to talk to her superior, she knew, but Traya was only a teacher, she didn't go out into the field much anymore.

"Still, because of it," Traya continued with a murderous glare in her eyes. "We have to send Captain Phasma with you."

Her heart beat faster. She _hated_ Phasma! Why did _she_ have to get suck with the android? She had no room to complain, though, so she nodded with that ugly look of anger plain and evident on her face.

* * *

It started with the dream. Instead of the ones of the woman in white and the melodies and the fur and the snarky voice, Rey dreamed that she was floating in the stars. It felt like what she imagined water all around her, like in a bath or lake would feel like, stars above and below her. She could hear a voice screaming at her to help her. She turned around to see Kylo being dragged down by horrible yellow-eyed monsters.

What was most horrifying though, were his own yellow eyes.

She awoke to hearing creaking sounds around the AT-AT. In the silence of Jakku, she got up and padded outside. No one there. When she turned around, she heard a thump in the darkness, right near the bed.

He was whimpering in his sleep, as he usually did, although he never screamed anymore. She picked up her staff quietly, and before one of the boys could raise their vibrio blades and finish the job, she pulled the staff under two of the boys' chins, causing them to yell with fear and surprise. Kylo awoke immediately as Jovi attempted to stab him. It only got in a little bit before he Force-pushed him to the wall. He picked up his lightsaber and activated it, illuminating the faces of three more village boys who were in on the attempt.

"What is this?" Rey demanded from the boys she had trapped.

"Don't kill us!" One of the younger ones begged.

"Kill you?" Rey frowned, and she withdrew her staff. Kylo made a little hissing noise, but she ignored him. "I won't hurt any of you. Now tell me what you were trying to do."

There was silence. Rey closed her eyes, and a bit of intuition sprang to her.

"You wanted to claim a deed for yourself. Kill the monster taking over your village," Rey said. "But you weren't brave enough to do it in broad daylight, so you waited until nightfall and tried to slit his throat while he was sleeping."

Jovi squirmed under the Force grip.

"And Jovi convinced you to do it," Rey said softly as she fit the final pieces. "The rest of you can clear out. If I catch you hanging around here again I will end you. Understand?"

The boys looked at each other, frightened by the change in the tiny orphan with the "kick-me" attitude. They then scampered off, leaving Jovi, who Kylo was giving a fiery glare.

"Let me go!" Jovi grunted.

"Do it," Rey ordered.

Kylo side-eyed her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Absolutely," she answered with more confidence than she felt.

Kylo let the boy down, and Jovi got to his feet, begrudgingly remaining with the angry couple.

"When they hear about this, they'll all be after you!" Jovi snarled, and he lunged and punched Rey, who stumbled back, placing her hand over her eye. Her eyes were closed, so all she heard was a sickening cry and the hum of Kylo's lightsaber and the sound of a body hitting the floor.

When she was able to reopen her not-black eye, she saw that he was standing over Jovi's body, breathing with shuddering breaths, and he turned and saw her horrified face.

"H-How could you?" She asked in a trembling voice. "H-He was just a kid."

"A kid who tried to kill me!" He protested in a shaky voice as he deactivated his lightsaber as Rey backed away, absolutely terrified. She'd heard him talk about some of the things he had done, but it wasn't like experiencing it firsthand. Much to her embarrassment and fear, she stumbled backwards into a chair, and came crashing down. Tears leaked out of her eyes as her heart tried to break free of her chest, it was was pounding so hard.

He rushed over to her when he saw her go crashing down, and knelt beside her, not sure what to do. He then settled on stroking her hair and holding her close enough to his chest that she could hear his heartbeat.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry."


	11. Let the Future Pass

The medic was surprisingly sympathetic to the young couple's tale. He merely helped put a medpack over Rey's black eye and helped heal it as well as put a bacta patch on Kylo's stab wound.

"Those boys were so stupid to try it," he remarked as he watched Rey and Kylo. "They should not have attempted to kill Force-users."

"The Force is just a myth! Maybe Kylo can do some. . . Things, but it's not some all-powerful force," Rey protested.

"Wait, users?" Kylo interrupted. "As in plural?"

The medic raised the eyebrow that was left on his face. "Of course I did. You're an intelligent man, Darth Ren. Surely you've figured it out by now."

"What are you talking about?" Rey asked, confused.

The medic looked at her. "He's told you enough about the Force that you should know, Rey. Think about all of your intuition, your clever piloting. That's not just natural ability, although your father was definitely known for his intuition and was most certainly ordinary."

"You knew my father?" Rey asked, her dark eyes widening. "How come you never told me that you knew who my father was, Cygnus?"

The medic looked down, avoiding the burning glare of the young girl's eyes.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you," he admitted slowly.

"What do you mean 'you weren't supposed to tell me'?" She demanded. "What's going on?"

"The Vicar ordered it, and we can't disobey his orders-" the medic tried to soothe the usually placid girl. But some of Kylo's attitude had infused itself into her, making her a little more fiery.

"Tell me, if you know who my father is, and my mother," Rey ordered.

"I can't," the medic said. "I'm sorry, Rey, but the Vicar ordered it. I cannot tell you who your parents are."

The girl deflated visibly. "Thank you anyway, Cygnus, for helping me."

"It's my pleasure, my girl," he said and he hugged her. "Now it would probably be best to retreat to the AT-AT before any of the villagers spot you. While Darth Ren's lightsaber may be frightening to most of them, it would be better to avoid more bloodshed, wouldn't you agree?"

Kylo and Rey exchanged a glance, and nodded.

* * *

Poe and Finn screamed as they entered the atmosphere of Jakku. Their only prayer was that they survive this experience. If they couldn't do that, well. . . Neither of them really wanted to think about the ifs at the moment.

It began to grow hot in the cockpit, like they were standing too close to a fire, and it made both of them writhe inside their harnesses. Then, with a thump that had sent Poe flying into Finn's chair, they landed. Finn fumbled with the harness as smoke filled the cockpit. He finally unbuckled himself, grabbed what was left of the emergency supplies, and dragged Poe out as the TIE-burst into flames. Finn then started to pour water onto Poe, who sat up straight.

"What are you doing, wasting water?" Poe demanded.

"Well excuse me for trying to wake you up," Finn snapped.

"We've got more important problems. First, ditch the armor. There's a settlement down that hill, I can see it from here, and you're going to spark a lot of fear into the people," Poe explained.

"And that's a bad thing because?"

Poe glared at him. "We don't fear, we want help. Because we're good people. Surely you understand that. You have a heart."

Finn frowned, but shut up and began taking off his armor. It was like walking the edge of the cliff-terrifying and oddly freeing. He and Poe began towards the settlement in hopes of finding shelter and a way to Yavin IV.

* * *

Kira Ren got into the cockpit of Phasma's TIE. Phasma merely pointed to the gunners' seat, and she situated herself there. From Traya Ren's research, they would be going to a desert planet, so Kira had dressed accordingly, her lightsabers hidden by her beige poncho. A vibrio blade was tied to her arm and she carried a royal pistol from Naboo, the one that Vader's consort had chosen years and years ago, and shoes that would get the job done. Her black hair was tied into a hairstyle much like the holos of Bastila Shan, Darth Revan's consort.

Phasma glanced at the seemingly casual apparel of Inquisitor Ren, and she then looked back to the windshield, and began a cool, easy ascent into space. They'd have a little longer to go to catch up with the desert world since they were delayed by the escapees, but they'd make it by nightfall.

Kira smiled at the pleasure of finding Kylo, and seeing how she could break him just a little more now that he had freedom under his belt. She smiled as her fingers twitched over the fire button. So easy, so easy. . .

Phasma ignored her and continued downwards to the lost colony.


	12. But Don't Let Go

Finn and Poe stumbled into the marketplace, but no one yet had figured out that there were two strangers among them. The two began to make their way through the marketplace to get information as to where they were and how they could leave. This wasn't Tatooine, but close enough.

They saw a red speeder that was beat up zoom towards them. Finn shoved Poe to the ground, barely saving both of their lives. Finn distinctly heard a screech, and saw a girl in sand-colored clothes staring him down. She offered a hand up. He took it first, then Poe. He saw the other rider. A chill went through him as met the young man's dark eyes, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he had met this man before. But where? That was the question.

"I haven't seen you around before," the girl said confused. "Who are you?"

"I'm Poe Dameron," Poe said, jerking a thumb at himself. "And that's-" he paused, and waited for the stormtrooper who had saved his life to give him his name.

"Finn," the black man said.

"You're not from here," the girl accused. "Did you crash here?"

Poe and Finn exchanged a glance, and then nodded. They noticed that the girl's companion had stiffened at her words.

"Yes," Finn burst out. "We need to get Yavin IV. Where are the shuttles?"

The girl frowned. "On Jakku, we have no way out. We're stuck here. I'm sorry."

Poe cursed under his breath and Finn groaned.

"You should come with us, though," the girl said decidedly. "I'm Rey, and this is Kylo."

Finn and Poe stared wide-eyed for a moment. Kylo? As in Kylo Ren?

She noticed how still they were.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"They know who I am," Kylo said quietly, staring into the eyes of the haunted men.

"You!" Poe shouted, and he started to swing a fist before Finn started to restrain him. "You attacked my planet, you shot down some of my best people, and you killed a bunch of Skywalker's Padwans!"

"Kylo, what's he talking about?" Rey asked, and she looked the boy for guidance. Guilt danced across his features. He looked down.

"This isn't a conversation to be having in the open. Perhaps we should go to the AT-AT," Kylo said. He couldn't bear it to look at any of them.

"Forget it!" Poe yelled angrily. "I'm not going anywhere with him!"

"Maybe we should go with him. Look at her, she obviously doesn't mean us any harm," Finn said, trusting his inner instincts he'd had sin eh e was a small child, causing the attention of Captain Phasma.

Poe nodded, finally trusting his own instincts. He pressed his DL-44 into Kylo's chest.

"One false move, Sith, and you'll be tasting a bullet," Poe threatened. "Clear?"

"Crystal," Kylo replied, not looking away as much as he wanted to.

"Well, now that that's settled, I guess we'd better go to my home and explain what's going on," Rey said in her clear Coruscanti accent.


	13. My Stomach Screams

Rey watched as Poe, Finn, and Kylo sat down, Finn and Poe on one side, Kylo on the other. Why did she have a bad feeling about this?

"Do you know who this guy is?" Poe asked, jerking his thumb at Kylo.

"Kylo Ren, one of the members of the Knights of Ren," she recited, and she glanced over at Kylo, meeting his eyes. "At least. He used to be."

"Used to be?" Poe arched an eyebrow. "How long have you been out of contact, scavenger?"

"My whole life- and that's not the point!" Rey added angrily. "He won't hurt you. He's deserted now that he has a chance."

"You don't really," Finn interjected. "Kira Ren, she's been sent out to look for you, and I think she's coming to this place."

Kylo inhaled sharply as memories unwillingly flooded in front of his eyes. Memories of cruelty, of her destroying everything he ever had any affection towards. If she was coming. . .

"Then we'll fight her," Rey said, determination shining in her eyes. "I'm not afraid."

"You will be!" Poe promised as he remembered her and Shira Ren. "You will be!"

"Then we need to work together to find a way off of this planet," Rey determined. "If we work together, we might scavenge enough parts to make a flying ship that can get us off this rock. Maybe then we can get Jakku into the New Republic."

"New Republic?" Poe and Finn exchanged glances.

"Don't you mean the Resistance?" Poe asked.

"No, the Rebellion became the New Republic after they defeated the Empire," Rey said stubbornly.

"You're right, you have been off the grid for nineteen years," Poe said with a low whistle.

"Then you don't know what he's really like," Finn said, eying Kylo.

"I know enough,' Rey said with a small smile. "Don't worry too much about me."

"We can't help but do that," Finn said. "We've seen firsthand what he's done."

Her eyes flicked to Kylo, but then back to Finn.

"Really?" She asked as she balanced her chin on her fists. "Tell me."

Kylo winced as Poe smirked and Finn looked a little nervous.

"Really?" Poe glanced at Finn again. "Alright, he's tortured people, he once killed almost all of Luke Skywalker's Padwans, except for little old me and Leia Organa-Solo, he's shot down several of my comerades in battle, he's ruthless, and he lies a lot."

"Is that all?" Rey raised an eyebrow.

Finn, wide-eyed, nodded.

"Care to tell me about the Padwans, Kylo?" She asked, her eyes flashing dangerously. Before he could answer, however, there was a shrieking sound much like TIEs coming in that made all of them free.

"They've come. We've got to go!" Kylo hissed, going a bit glassy eyed as the memories took over. He didn't want her to destroy this beauty left. He would kill to make sure that Rey's light never went out.


	14. Now You See Why I'm Scared

They ran outside, Rey carrying her staff, and Poe and Finn holding the emergency flare guns from the TIE-wreck. Kylo unleashed his lightsaber, and the ragged group looked up to see a TIE shooting the village. Poe squinted at above.

"Those sons of banthas! He swore. "They've got my droid, BB-8." His eyes widened. "Kriff! Kriff! Kriff!"

"Can you live without your precious droid?" Kylo asked dryly.

Poe started shaking Kylo. "You don't get it! I need to have her!"

"It's alright, we'll get it," Finn assured him.

Rey placed on her shaded goggles and looked up. "I think I can communicate with her. Give me her fequency?"

But right then, BB-8 popped out of the cockpit and screamed as it fell out of the sky and landed in the sand as the TIE had swooped close to the AT-AT. Poe ran for the droid and helped her up.

"You're a good girl, BB," he said. "Come on, just follow my lead."

The group started running as the TIE began shooting more structures, sending the villagers running and screaming. The Vicar stared hollowly at Kylo Ren. He'd known that the Sith would bring destruction to Jakku.

"Follow me!" Rey went into the Star Destroyer on foot.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Finn asked.

Kylo might've shrugged, but it was hard to tell with them running.

"Going somewhere, dear Kylo?" A voice called.

They all turned around to see Kira Ren, in her poncho with her strange hairstyle. She unleashed two magenta blades, and she ran at Kylo faster than any of them would've thought to be humanly possible.

She slashed wildly as Kylo tried to keep up. Rey looked to the others. "We need to find a ship!"

She hated leaving him behind, but Rey knew she needed to find something that could shoot the other Knight of Ren. They ran under the Star Destroyer, and found in the sand, not buried at all, a round, disk-like ship. They ran up the loading ramp, and Rey went into the cockpit. The place smelled familiar to her, but she still couldn't place it.

She placed her hands on the controls. "Poe, go to that gunning turret on the top, Finn, you take the bottom!"

The men nodded and took the positions while they wondered why a tiny orphan had become Queen of the Galaxy. Rey drove the ship out of the Star Destroyer and circled above Kylo and Kira fighting.

Kylo had a few scratches and burns from the lightsabers, and he was tiring.

"Your feelings betray you," Kira said with a smirk. "That girl, she is someone special to you, someone glimmering with the light. I will snuff her out, and then you will truly conform to the dark side of the Force!"

"No!" He yelled, and he raised his lightsaber again when he sensed-

Kylo had barely gotten out of the way when the projectile had hit. The ship landed, and Rey stepped out on the loading ramp while loading a DL-44.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Well, someone has to save your skin," she said with a calm confidence. She ran to Kylo and helped him to his feet. They stared at Kira for a moment. Then Rey shot at her and they ran. They'd barely made it up into the ship when Kira was on the end.

"Close the doors!" Rey ordered as she shot again, and ran at Kira, kicking her out of the ship. She then took the cockpit again and rose into the sky. It felt completely natural to her as she dodged the fire of the TIE, and did a few barrel rolls.

"Alright, as soon as we hit the air, we're hitting the hyperdrive, got it?" Rey asked.

The other guys shrugged since she was in charge. With the TIE hot on their tail, they had barely left the atmosphere when they'd shot into hyperspace. Rey slumped against her chair, exhausted.

"Thanks, boys," she said to the others, now that they were all in the cockpit. "I really needed all of you."

BB-8 chirped, and she smiled and stroked the droid.

"Even you, BB."

Kylo could sense her affection towards the other young men, and it enraged him. Surely she'd choose one of them and leave him. Who was he to even begin to think of himself as worthy of the scavenger with the heart of a princess?

"I need to be by myself," he said stiffly, and he went to the barracks and leaned against them. He'd have to learn to be content with just being her protector, the shield to her sword, not the lover at her side.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked, standing in the doorway with a frown. "I could sense your distress. So could the others, for that matter."

"Why aren't you talking to them?" Kylo spat.

"Is that what has you in a twist?" She demanded.

"Just go and fall in love with one of them, then!"

"What?" She looked confused, and then her face softened. "You thought that I wouldn't love you anymore because there were others?"

"I'm not a good man," he said with a shrug. "You deserve better.

"I don't know where you get your delusions, laser-brain," Rey said as she closed the gaps.

"I love you," he said, holding her close.

"I know," she whispered. "I know."


	15. I Can't Open Up My Heart

Kira raged on Jakku. She looked at the captives they had taken from the settlers. They watched her pace, and only Phasma appeared to be calm as they watched her twirl her magenta sabers as she paced furiously.

"Perhaps, Inquisitor Ren, you should spend more time actually trying to track down Kylo Ren," Phasma said, as she pressed down a certain spike of emotion she felt about the missing man. "I will deal with these captives. Take my TIE. I will signal the Mal'ary'ush."

Kira nodded, and she got into the cockpit. She wasn't the best pilot, but with a little help from the Force, she'd manage. She would have to speed up to catch up with the junk freighter that had taken off from the surface of Jakku.

* * *

"Hey, lovebirds, we have a bit of a problem," Finn announced. Rey and Kylo whipped around, both bright red in the face.

"What sort of problem?" Rey asked.

"Come and see," Finn said, his face grim. The couple followed him into the cockpit, where they could see a large warship coming towards them.

"Is that Imperial or is it from the Resistance?" Kylo asked as he sat down.

"That's what we were trying to figure out," Poe said.

"Well, I think there's only one way to find out," Rey said grimly. "Let's- oh, someone wants to communicate with us."

The males froze.

"It must be Imperial," Finn whispered. "They've found us."

"We don't know that!" Rey hissed.

"Let's face it, the First Order wants all of us dead or worse," Kylo said. "We can't risk it."

Rey stared evenly at him, and hit the button to receive the transmission.

"Whoever you are, you'd better have a damned good reason for flying my ship!" A familiar but angry voice shouted. Rey closed her eyes. Where did she remember this man's voice?

"My name is Rey, we have Poe Dameron with us," she said. "Who are you, sir?"

"That's Han Solo!" Poe hissed.

"Sorry, Mr. Solo, sir!" Rey added quickly.

There was a dry chuckle on the other side.

"Just wait, the Anakin is coming to get you," Solo told them. The warship then locked them into a tractor beam. Rey flopped back in her seat as they got pulled in.

When it was, Han Solo, with Chewbacca, the ever-famous Wookie at his side, had come in. He stopped cold at the sight of Rey.

"Jaina," he said, his voice low and hoarse. "You've come home."

He then embraced her.


	16. You See This Heart Won't Settle Down

"Jaina?" She swallowed, remembering the name she'd heard in her sort-of vision. "Is my name Jaina Solo?"

"Yes," Han said, tears trickling down his cheek. "My oldest daughter. We thought we'd lost you when the Noghiri had surrendered the _Falcon_ to the Imperials. I know your mother can't wait to see you, and Force, Jacen. . . JACEN, get over here!"

A young man of fifteen in a Rogue Squadron uniform with a lightsaber on his belt jogged over to the newcomers, looking slightly annoyed.

"What do you want, Dad?" He asked. "I was just talking to Tenel Ka-"

"You can sweet-talk her later, son," Han said. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Jacen jumped as he turned to look at the pilots of the _Millennium Falcon_.

Rey recognized him as soon as their eyes met.

"Jaysa?" She asked, remembering a presence in her childhood who would talk to her in her mind. She'd thought he was made up when he started disappearing as she got older.

"Rey?" He asked at the exact same time she'd said his name. The twins embraced, and there was silence for a moment.

Jacen was excited, brandy eyes bright. "I have to tell Anakin and Tahiri now!"

"Who are they?" Rey asked.

"Anakin's our younger brother," Jacen explained. "Tahiri's his, well, you'll see. Oh, there's so many people I'd love for you to meet, like Tenel Ka Djo, my fiancée-"

"Son," Han interrupted. "Mightn't it be better if you get Anakin, Ben, Tenel Ka, and your mother together, and I'll take them to you guys?"

Jacen blushed and nodded sheepishly. "Sounds like a plan. Nice to see you back, Dameron."

Poe nodded as Jacen walked by.

* * *

Rey entered a room where an older version of the woman in white in her vision was standing, alongside Jacen, and a boy who looked like him but with icy blue eyes and was shorter who was holding hands with a barefoot blonde with three scars across her forehead. Sitting on a control panel was a one-armed redhead with an elaborate style and a fierce demeanor. In front of Jacen was a redheaded boy about the age of the blue-eyed boy.

It didn't escape Rey that all of them had lightsabers clipped to their belts, in Ben's case, two.

"Um, hi, everybody," she said softly. "I guess this is going to be hard to take, but I'm Jaina."

Jacen smirked, Ben's jaw dropped, Tenel Ka and Tahiri started whispering back and forth. Anakin glared at Jacen.

"So that's what you wanted to tell me," he said.

Jacen just smiled as Leia, with tears of joy in her eyes, embraced her daughter, as did Han, Ben, Anakin, and Jacen. Finn, Tahiri, Tenel Ka, Poe, and Kylo felt very awkward around all the hugging.

Actually, Kylo felt more than a little awkward. A part of him hurt inside. He wanted family, a mother, a father, siblings, to hold him like that, to cry tears of joy when he came home. He wrapped his arms around himself, feeling quite cold. He tried to slip out of the room, when Ben noticed, pulled away from the hug, and had both lightsabers activated, on either sides of Kylo's neck, blue and magenta.

"Don't you dare move, Sith," Ben snarled.

"He's not Sith, Ben," Rey said.

"I can sense it, he is like the guy who killed Mom," Ben snarled back. The room went amazingly quiet, and Jacen had a suspicious face. "Dark, just like Caedus."

"Caedus Ren?" Kylo asked. He remembered hearing about the mysterious contact that no one on his level of clearance had ever seen. Rumor was that only Shira and Snoke had seen them.

"You know him then?" Ben demanded.

"Fine, I'll stop this." A violet lightsaber sprang into existence, and Anakin looked like he had had enough. "Ben, put the lightsabers down, or I'll fight you."

"You think you scare me?" Ben snarled, although he did move them away from Kylo and now had the laser-swords pointed at Anakin. "Even though you're some kind of Jedi prodigy? Even though you're supposed to be the next Chosen One, my uncle's favorite? I became a Jedi Knight before you even got the chance, Vader."

Anakin's face darkened. "I am not like Vader. Just because I have the name does not mean-"

Both boys felt something push the buttons of their lightsabers (therefore deactivating them), pushing them to opposite sides of the room, and taking their lightsabers away. Jacen caught the three metal cylinders effortlessly. Anakin was the first to get back on his feet, looking as he hadn't been hurt. Then again, with his power in the Force, he probably hadn't been.

"Ani, Bennie, please don't make me do that again," Jacen said loudly. "Are we clear, boys?"

"Yes Jaysa," Anakin said with a wicked smile.

"Whatever you say, cousin," Ben said, rolling his eyes.

They all looked to Kylo Ren again.

"Wait a minute, you do feel familiar!" Leia cried, and she activated her pink lightsaber, and with a unified _snap-hiss_ , many lightsabers of varying shades sprang to life. "You're one of the Sith! How did you meet my daughter, what are you doing with her, and you'd better have some answers fast!"

"I defected when I crash-landed on Jakku," Kylo announced. All the lightsabers deactivated, but Han just stared at the young man. Now that he'd been away from the dark side, the man's eyes were turning from an almost-black to a dark green.

"Daddy, stop trying to stare him to death," Rey said nervously.

Han jumped at being called "Daddy" but relaxed and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill him, sweetheart. Don't need to go around killing your little boy-toys."

"Toys?" Kylo raised his eyebrows.

"Sure, with a whole string of them-"

Finn, Poe, and Kylo all blushed along with Rey.

"Come on, it's not like that's a bad thing! Before your mom, I had-"

Leia coughed loudly and looked meaninfully at Han, who wisely shut his mouth.

"I don't think I'm-"

Rey gave him a flirtatious smile that made his whole face go as red as his lightsaber.

"Moving on," Han coninued, regaining control of the conversation. "You seem like an okay kid. Better than Colonel Cardboard, that stupid Chiss hotshot. Remind me, Jain- I mean, Rey, to have you run a flight simulator against him-if you inherited any of my piloting skills, you'll outfly him easily."

"But Uncle Han, he's a-" Ben protested.

Han gave him a warning glare. "He isn't anymore. Is that right?"

"Absolutely not. I'm part of the Buy One Get One free deal- buy a redeemed Knight of Ren, get your daughter back for free," Kylo said sarcastically. "Anyone else wanna get a deal?"

"You sell Sith Lords?" Tenel Ka asked, confused.

"It's a joke," Jacen explained.

"Like yours?" Tenel Ka asked as she raised her eyebrows. "Only makes me laugh because they make no sense?"

Jacen facepalmed. "We really need to teach you sarcasm."

"I don't know about that offer, seems legit," Han said. "Can I get a missing Jedi master in with that bargain?"

"Oh, that reminds me!" Poe signaled for BB-8. "BB-8 said he had a message for you guys, but he wouldn't tell me what. All I know is that when we stopped for refueling on Bespin, in Cloud City, and she came back insisting upon it."

"Better take a look at it," Han said grimly.

BB-8 then opened a compartment to reveal a lightsaber that Leia and Han knew very well. Once Anakin Skywalker's, it had passed through many hands.

"That's Mom's lightsaber!" Ben cried. "Dad took it with him when he was exiled! He's trying to tell us that he's in trouble!"

"Slow down," Jacen said. "I don't think-"

"Luke," Leia said, as she closed her eyes. "Something has happened."

"Then what are we doing? Let's go," Ben cried.

"We could take the _Falcon_ ," Rey suggested. "We could all go, including Kylo."

All the Skywalker-Solo relations glanced around at each other.

"I have to stay here and run things with Wedge," Leia said. "You have to go, though. I wish I could go with you."

"No you don't," Ben snarled. "You've always been weak."

With that, he stormed out.

"I'll go after him," Jacen groaned with a bit of a guilty face. He ran out of the room.

"Be careful, all of you," Leia warned, as she looked away with the sadness caused by Ben's outburst. "I love you."

"I know!" They all chorused, and then it faded to silence.


	17. Running Scared from a Clown

The family loaded onto the Falcon, including Tenel Ka and Tahiri. Rey, Han, and Chewie took the cockpit. Rey watched anxiously over his shoulder for a while, until Han shooed her away to go to talk to her family.

Well, Tahiri and Anakin were a little. . . Busy in one of the escape pods, and Kylo was hiding from Ben. Finn and Poe were talking happily. Rey felt a little left out, until she found Jacen meditating on the couch.

Sensing her presence, he opened his eyes and looked up at her with a smile.

"What can I do for you, Rey?"

"I was wondering how you became a Jedi," Rey said.

"Ah, well, they wouldn't tell you this, but on Yavin IV, there used to be an academy, the Jedi Praxeum. Plenty of us trained there," he explained. "Corran Horn, Clighal, all of my friends-they trained there. Uncle Luke ran it, and it looked like things were going great for the Order. Anakin was supposed to be the next Grandmaster of the Order, actually, when Uncle Luke retired."

"What happened?" Rey asked.

"The Sith, or I guess, as your friend said, the Knights of Ren happened," Jacen said darkly. "They attacked, and there were several traitors at the academy. One of them was Rosh Penin, Jaden Korr's husband, another was my friend Zekk, Alema Rarr, even Ben's girlfriend, Vestara Khai. Several Padwans were stolen, and they were never seen again.

"Aunt Mara started tracking them down like it was personal. Maybe she thought that Ben would be next. They found her body on Kavan with a poison dart wound," Jacen finished. "Ben hasn't been right since. Luke got exiled because he failed in keeping his students from going dark, and he made Ben stay here. Between the loss of his mother and his father, he's almost dark himself."

"That's so sad," Rey said. She then instinctively looked to the barracks to see Kylo's face peeking out from under a bunk, looking years and years older, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Rey asked as she knelt beside Kylo. "What's happened?"

"I did it," he said in almost a whisper. "My test, it was-"

Rey's eyes widened as she connected the pieces. "You killed the Padwans when they were brought to you."

He nodded, crying.

"It's a new start, Kylo," Jacen said. "I forgive you."

There was a trace of guilt in Jacen's voice, but Rey ignored it.

"I guess I should try for redemption," Kylo said in a resigned voice.

"This is your chance," Rey said. "You can save Skywalker, and then you're a hero."

"But do I deserve to be?" He asked.

"Here," Jacen said, and he pulled three purple crystals out of his pocket. "Replace the red with these. Then maybe you'll have the courage to try."

Kylo did the procedure quickly, and activated his fiery lightsaber. It was strange, seeing the spluttering purple light, but he liked it a lot better than red. He'd had enough red for a lifetime.

"I feel a little unimportant, not having a lightsaber like you guys," Rey admitted.

"Wait a minute, show me your staff," Jacen said. Rey handed it over. He ran his hands over it and stopped. "May I?"

Rey nodded.

Jacen snapped off a bit, and looked inside. "Ah, this was once a dual-bladed lightsaber. Sith crystals. I bet that if you meditate on it, you'll get some new colors that will suit you."

Rey nodded and took the crystals out. She placed the red in front of her and closed her eyes.

"Think about what it means to be a Jedi."


	18. Like a Child

The question really did challenge a part of Rey. What did it mean to her to be a Jedi? The question needed an answer. Rey closed her eyes and sat down in front of the crystals.

She wanted adventure and excitement all her life, things she was told in the legends that a Jedi should not crave. Yet that was all a part of who she was, a piece that she could not repress.

As she dug deeper and deeper into the current of her mind, she was pulled into an almost-dream, a vision. A figure with a mask in robes started walking towards her. The figure drew two lightsabers- a red and a purple.

"Who are you?" Rey called out.

"The question is, who are you?" A gender-neutral voice called back, not stopping at all in the walk.

"I'm no one," Rey said.

"You're someone," the figure said. "But to satisfy your curiosity, I am the Revanchist. You may call me Revan."

"What an honor," Rey said with a sarcastic bow.

The figure only laughed a happy laugh.

"Ah, such sarcasm. I haven't heard such since Bastila," the figure said. "I know that you wish to be a Jedi. I paid the price of being a Jedi, though. I went through a terrible sacrifice and literally lost my mind."

"What kind of sacrifice?" Rey asked.

"A fall," Revan replied.

"So you went to the dark side," Rey shrugged. "What's your point? You seem like a good enough person."

"So it is true, what they say about you and the light," Revan replied amusedly. "They talk about you a lot in the Netherworld. Truly, you are one for forgiveness. Be careful where it will lead you."

Rey opened her eyes, and the crystals were a different color on the table. She inserted them into the saber staff that had broken off of her metal one, and she activated it. Two golden blades came into existence, and then Rey double-tapped the button to turn them off.

Kylo and Jacen stared at her.

"Let's go find Uncle Luke," she said.


	19. What Hurts the Most

They landed on Yavin IV, and the group disembarked. A temple stood alone as they walked around, lightsabers lit as flashlights. They started walking around in the humid air of the jungles as the cry of Howlers pierced the air.

"Remember, Tahiri, when we freed the souls of Massassi children here?" Anakin asked Tahiri as the blue and violet blades strayed close to each other.

"Back when we had Ikrit," Tahiri mused. "And when I was Corran Horn's apprentice. That was so long ago."

"True," Anakin said.

"Watch out, some of the creatures here are dangerous," Jacen warned to Finn, Rey, and Kylo.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Rey asked, her face illumined beautifully by the golden blades.

"Luke left a message when he was exiled after Aunt Mara's death explaining where he went," Jacen explained as Ben glared ahead with his dual blades.

After slicing through jungle, crazy training droids, and a few particularly stubborn Howlers, the group had found their way onto the Jedi Praxeum that had once been the home to many Jedi.

Every step echoed inside and no one dared say a word as they wandered around the dormitories and kitchens where the Jedi had once lived years ago. Ben led them with a sort of tunnel vision and refusal to stray to where he and his parents had lived when they were on-planet. After searching the quarters of the Skywalkers thoroughly, they began pulling actual books made with flimsi off of the shelves and began looking through them.

"I think I found something," Finn said.

"So did I," Poe added.

"And me," Ben said.

"I found another," Tahiri chimed in.

"One last one," Jacen said,

"Let's add them together," Rey suggested. The scraps of flimsi added to make up a code, a bunch of numbers.

"How do we know if we have the right order?" Ben asked impatiently.

"Wait a minute, I know how to do these," Anakin said. "Show me the books you found them in."

Finn, Poe, Jacen, Ben, and Tahiri gave him the books. After examining the books, rearranging the flimsis, and typing in notes on his datapad.

"The coordinates are for Mustafar, and a location on the planet," Anakin finally said.

"Mustafar?" Jacen's voice went a little high.

"What was he doing there?" Ben demanded angrily. "That's where all the Jedi went to die during Order 66! Why in the nine Corellian hells would Dad go there?"

"None of us would've guessed that he'd go there," Kylo said quietly.

"Shut up, Sith, if it weren't for you, Mom wouldn't be dead and Dad would be here," Ben snarled.

"If it weren't for Caedus Ren, Zekk, and Vestara, you mean," Jacen said quietly with a sad expression, as he and Tahiri shared a glance.

"And this guy! Anakin's not the only one who can hack into holocams, you know," Ben said fiercely, and he jabbed his finger at Kylo's chest. "You're the one who killed all the Padwans. You wanted to be so like Vader, and you were! You killed younglings!"

Kylo gave him a regretful expression that almost mirrored Jacen's. "I wish I hadn't every single day, Ben."

"Don't say my name!" Ben roared, and he placed his hands over his ears and ran down the stairs. Jacen groaned and got to his feet, but Rey put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can go after him later," she assured him. "So, Mustafar, huh?"

"Yeah," Anakin said. "Should be fun."

"We'd better get going, then," Poe said.

"First, I want to get you and Finn lightsabers," Jacen said to him. "Come on, I remember where the armory was. It should be the exact same as it was before."

Downstairs, Rey waited outside with Kylo as he moved his now-purple lightsaber with an almost childish fascination. Anakin and Tahiri waited with them, although they seemed more interested in being with each other than doing anything, it seemed.

"They're communicating in the Force," Kylo explained to Rey quietly as she swished around the golden blades of her lightsaber.

"Must be nice," she said.

"It's a very intimate thing," he said. "They're letting each other into their deepest psyches, sharing thoughts and becoming one. It's a pretty big deal that they can do that so easily."

"Well, from what I heard, Anakin's really strong in the Force," Rey said.

"That's only a small part of it. You have to really care about someone to let them see all of it," Kylo said.

"Will you ever let me see you in that way?" She asked.

He paused. "Not yet. There are some things I'm not ready to tell you about me."

"If it's about me thinking any less of you, I hardly think that's possible," Rey said.

"I know, it's just hard to let go of that fear," he replied. There was silence for a moment.

Then there was a cry.

"Ben," they chorused, as Anakin and Tahiri got to their feet and whipped out the lightsabers. They all ran, following the shouts until they were mysteriously silenced. From that point, they tracked him in the Force until they were on the roof of the temple that was once resting place to Exar Kun.

A brunette with elegant black tattoos held a scarlet blade to Ben's throat, and he looked utterly terrified and betrayed. Another woman was standing next to her with two magenta blades. It was the same woman from Jakku, in black battle armor rather than the tan wear of a desert.

"Kira Ren," Kylo snarled. "Couldn't leave me alone, could you? Tell your apprentice to put him down."

"Oh, Zannah?" Kira laughed. "Zannah wanted to reunite with dear Ben, didn't you, my apprentice?"

Zannah Ren looked a little uncertain.

"Ves," Ben was begging in a voice Kylo hadn't thought possible from the boy. "Ves, please, let me go. I'll do anything. I always would've done anything for you. Remember, me, Ben, your old friend?"

She faltered.

"We make a trade, then," Kira Ren said. "The boy, in exchange for the location of Luke Skywalker."

"What makes me think that we have that?" Rey asked.

"Stupid tactic, little girl," Zannah snarled.

"I know you have it, you, little boy, you little Messiah," Kira Ren sneered. Anakin gulped, but held his violet blade steady.

"I'm not giving it up, Kira," Anakin snarled. "Don't you dare try it."

"Then we leave with the boy," Kira Ren threatened.

"Leave me behind, leave me!" Ben begged through tears. Zannah faltered, and Anakin sighed.

"He's on Mustafar," Anakin admitted.

"Thank you. Zannah, let your boy toy go," Kira ordered, and she and the apprentice walked away.

"You okay?" Rey asked Ben.

Ben shook his head. "I haven't been okay for some time now. Not since she left, not since Mom died, not since Dad left."

"We're here for you now," Tahiri said.

"Yeah, come over here, cuz," Anakin said, opening his arms up to his cousin, who started sobbing between the embrace of Anakin and Tahiri. Jacen, Poe, and Finn ran up, carrying activated green, orange, and blue lightsabers.

"What happened?" Jacen asked.

"Kira Ren and Zannah Ren came, held Ben hostage, and now they know where Luke is," Tahiri recited off of the top of her head.

"Then we've got to get to Mustafar now," Jacen said, looking very alarmed. "Dad and Chewie are going to hate this."


	20. Requiem for a Dream

They were about to land on Mustafar. Ben was still a mess from the attack. Tahiri and Anakin were doing their best to comfort him, but Rey could see now that the boy was broken inside. Rey, Jacen, and Kylo stood outside of the barracks.

"I can't imagine what it would be like to betrayed like that," Kylo said softly.

"So, was Zannah his girlfriend?" Rey asked.

"Kinda," Jacen admitted with a sigh. "He was always on and off with Vestara- that's what she told us her name was."

"Wow," Rey said. "I never imagined-"

"That's why he's so angry about having a former Knight of Ren aboard," Jacen said. "He's scared of being betrayed again. For the longest time, he thought that she had killed his mother. Not Caedus."

"How does he know?" Kylo asked.

"Luke dueled Caedus after the murder during the attack," Jacen said, turning away. "Luke told him what had happened."

"And he believed him?" Kylo sighed. "The Knights of Ren-"

"Don't lie. That's more of a Jedi thing to be honest," Jacen said. "Telling it from a certain point of view, I mean."

"I see," Kylo said, staring intensely at Jacen, who met his stare calmly. Rey looked between the two of them uneasily.

"Hey," Poe said as he came back. "We've landed."

Now Rey could feel the heat of Mustafar, even though the air conditioning in the Millennium Falcon. She gripped her saber-staff on her belt with both hands nervously, what was left of her old staff still strapped to her back.

"We'll be coming," Tahiri promised, as she and Anakin went back to coaxing Ben out. Rey looked back to Poe and Finn, and she, Jacen, Kylo, Poe, and Finn exited onto the platform where Han and Chewbacca were waiting.

"Where's Ben, Tahiri, and Anakin?" Han asked.

"They'll be coming in a moment," Finn announced.

"Good," Han said. "We'll wait a moment."

Rey watched the fires and lava burn and spike. The whole planet felt dangerous, and she didn't like it. It was hotter than Jakku, and she hadn't thought that to be possible. She looked to Kylo.

"We could die at the hands of the Knights of Ren any moment," she reminded him.

"We could," he agreed grimly as he swept her into his arms. The two kissed briefly but passionately.

Finally, Ben, closely flanked by Tahiri and Anakin, walked out, and Han nodded.

"Let's go before something else happens," he said, and they walked into the building. It was decades old, maybe half a century old, but it held stable to the test of time. The building was dark except for the glow of holoscreens and control panels.

"Hello?" Rey called. "Luke? Luke Skywalker?"

The silhouette of a man rose from beside an R2 unit. Rey realized that she was looking at the famous R2-D2 from all the Skywalker legends. Supposedly it was the Queen of Naboo's droid, and it went all the way through the legacy of the Skywalkers and had been through everything with them.

"I haven't heard that name in a long time," he said.

"Dad!" Ben ran to his father and hugged him.

"Ben, what are you doing here?" Luke asked. "I thought you were supposed to be on Coruscant-"

"We thought you were in trouble," Ben said, his voice trembling a little.

"No, why would you think that?" Luke frowned.

"But we found your old lightsaber," Poe said, offering the lightsaber to Luke.

"I returned it to Cloud City when I first went into exile!" Luke cried. "I wasn't in any danger whatsoever!"

The party exchanged uneasy glances.

"Well, you're about to be," Finn said.

"Knights of Ren are coming," Kylo added.

"Kylo Ren, right?" Luke asked.

"Just Kylo, now," he replied with a nod.

"Interesting," Luke said. "I see Anakin, Jacen, Tahiri, Ben, you, Poe Dameron, Han, Chewbacca, and two others. Care to tell me who you are?"

"Finn," Finn said. "I want to become a Jedi."

"Well, the Force is certainly strong with you, and-" he paused as he looked over Rey. "Jaina?"

"I go by Rey, now," she announced.

Luke stared for a few moments, and looked down at his son. "We'd better leave soon, then. Daala isn't going to like this at all."

"I don't care," Ben sniffled.

"You should," a familiar voice said, and Ben fell on his back upon seeing that it was Zannah Ren again, with two women next to her, Shira Ren and Kira Ren, all of them having activated lightsabers. Well, except for Shira, who had a light whip.

"So, Luke Skywalker and little Padwans," Shira Ren drawled. "At last. It would be better to surrender now."

Lightsabers were drawn, and Shira only sneered at them.

"Ah, Maul's staff has been retrieved," she said. "And it's been put in the hands of a child. The pilot and the defector have lightsabers they wield clumsily now. The young Skywalker still wields his two with a lack of precision, as if they're sticks."

"Leave, Shira!" Kylo ordered. "You have no place here!"

"Ah, look at our lost little knight," Shira crooned to Kira. "He's now got purple in his lightsaber."

Kylo gritted his teeth and held up his lightsaber. He would not give in to his anger. Too many times he'd given in to the dark side, and he'd paid the price.

"The little sand girl still insists going everywhere barefoot, and hangs on to the messiah with a vengeance," Kira pointed out.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Zannah drawled.

"Leave!" Anakin ordered, some of his grandfather's fury showing.

"Of course not! Not until we prove your loyalties," Kira said.

"What are you talking about?" Rey asked, her blood running cold.

"You have traitors among you," Shira declared. Everyone looked at Kylo except for Jacen and Tahiri.

"Not him," Zannah laughed. "He's defected and lost to us completely!"

Jacen looked to Luke apologetically. "I'm sorry."

His lightsaber then turned red, and he stepped over to the Knights of Ren.

"No! That's not possible!" Ben cried. "That can't be true!"

"Oh, but it is," Kira said. "Meet Caedus Ren."


	21. We're All Gonna Get in a Fight

"You?" Ben cried. "I trusted you! You said that you were going to take care of me for Mom! And all along, you killed her! You _killed_ her! _You_ killed my mom! I'll kill _you_!"

He launched himself at Jacen furiously, magenta and blue blades swinging in blurs. Jacen blocked almost effortlessly.

"Stop fighting, Ben," he said in an imperial voice that did not match his face, his yellow eyes that betrayed his sadness. "You're going to cut off one of your hands."

"I don't care!" Ben yelled. "I just want you dead!"

Jacen blocked again, and pushed Ben flat on his back and summoned the handles to him, deactivated. They clipped themselves on his belt, and he pointed his lightsaber at Ben, his arm shaking a little.

"Yield."

"I will never yield to you, Caedus!" Ben spat.

"Too bad that you don't get much choice in the matter," Kira said as she loaded her dart with a sedative and shot Ben. The Jedi ran around to protect him, Rey right at the front with her double-bladed lightsaber.

"More of you should be standing with us," Shira snarled. "Isn't that right, Janus?"

"Come on," Caedus pleaded. "You have to do this. Remember what we talked about?"

Tahiri faltered.

"Janus, please," Caedus continued. "You've earned your place at my side."

"Tahiri, what's he talking about?" Anakin asked.

"I-I won't," Tahiri said.

"Remember what you saw? In your vision?" Caedus coaxed.

"Yes, girl, remember the vision that brought you to us?" Kira demanded.

"What are they talking about?" Anakin demanded.

"Stop!" Tahiri closed her eyes and deactivated her lightsaber. "I saw a vision months ago, of you dying in battle. After the one I'd had that told me how I'd gotten my scar, I was determined to avoid this prophecy."

"Tahiri, I-" Anakin began.

"You act like you're invincible, Anakin. But you're not. Despite all the death you've seen, you're recklessly heroic, and that makes me worry about you," Tahiri said, in tears. "Your hero complex is going to kill you someday. Don't you get that?"

"Tahiri, nothing's going to happen to me if we work together," Anakin said slowly. "Remember what Ikrit said about how we're stronger together?"

"Janus, you can save him for sure," Kira said. "If you stay with us-"

"Don't trust them!" Kylo cried. "They'll destroy everything beautiful if you stand with them!"

"You promised, Janus!" Caedus cried.

Tahiri closed her eyes. When she reopened them, they were vengefully green.

"My name is Tahiri Veila, and I am a Jedi Knight," she declared as she reactivated her blade. "Janus Ren is dead to me, as will you if you lay a hand on Anakin or Ben!"

She then attacked Caedus along with Anakin, while Poe, Finn, and Kylo faced against Kira. Chewbacca picked up Ben's body as Luke and Rey faced off against Shira.

Shira cracked her whip and Rey barely blocked with one of the golden blades. It bounced off and hit Luke's green, causing it to lose momentum. Shira wound it up for another hit, as Rey dismissed it.

Han was shooting at Zannah, who was trying to follow him and Chewie to the Falcon. Zannah blocked with clumsy strokes of the blade, and he had to borrow his nephew's blade.

"You? Against me?" Zannah scoffed.

"Try me, sweetheart," Han said as he blocked the blow. "I might have more talents than you think."

Meanwhile, Poe, Finn, and Kylo took turns blocking and aiming at Kira, and barely missing. Kylo blocked an aim towards his hand with his cross guard as Finn used the pressure and opportunity to disarm her.

Poe's orange blade then brushed against her arm before she force-shoved all the boys away.

"Han's in trouble!" Finn cried, and he started running through the Mustafar complex.

Kylo turned beck to Kira Ren, and Poe looked between his former enemy and his new ally.

"Go," Kylo said. "Save him."

He then looked back to Kira. "This is personal! You've destroyed everything I ever loved, and I won't allow it to happen again!"

He dipped into his rage, and allowed it to consume him as he came at Kira with everything he had.

Rey stumbled backwards, away from Shira, as Luke was forced away by pieces of the roof falling in. Shira jumped into the narrow passageway with the girl, and they began a close game of cat-and-mouse, and Rey was feeling like the mouse.

Luke looked to Caedus, Tahiri, and Anakin.

Caedus gripped both of them with the Force and almost effortlessly put them down on the other side of the room.

"Jacen, there's still time for you," Luke said. "There is good in you, I sensed it years ago when you killed my wife, and I can still sense it now."

"Then surely you sense why I'm doing this?" Caedus cried. "It was me or you."

"Listen to me," Luke said as he approached warily as Tahiri and Anakin crawled towards each other for support. "You're being deceived by someone. Shira Ren, whoever's on top of her. Someone wants you to become evil."

"You don't know that!" Caedus said. "My wife, and my daughter are going to die if the prophecy doesn't come to fulfillment with me as Caedus Ren!"

"You don't know that," Luke repeated. "Come back to the light."

"Tell my parents I'm sorry," Caedus said, and he disappeared.

Kira darted out of Kylo's way. "See you later, traitor."

She then shot a dart into Kylo and ran.

Zannah clenched her teeth. She was losing badly against a non-Force user and two barely trained ones. Han deactivated Ben's lightsaber, and tossed it into the ship, pulling out his DL-44.

"Surrender, Zannah Ren," Han said.

"Never," Zannah hissed, and she back-flipped away from the group and bounded away rather quickly.

In the passageway, Rey kept stumbling back farther and farther, until she was on a balcony and could feel the heat of Mustafar.

"Got you now, Solo," Shira snarled, and with a flick of her whip, it was off with one of Rey's hands. She fell to the ground, howling in pain. Rey glared up at her fiercely, and in a moment of daring, used the Force to throw her saber-staff, causing Shira to dodge and jump back onto the roof.

After a few minutes, Rey got up, grabbed her staff, and went back down the passage and onto the landing platform, where everyone had met at the _Millennium Falcon_.


	22. Another Story

"Rey!" Kylo cried, and he ran to Rey as she deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt, holding the stub of her hand close to her chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and she gratefully wrapped her uninjured arm around him, and rested her head on his shoulder. Her tears dripped down, wetting the back of his shirt.

He looked down, and saw the stubby end to her arm. He took it gently, and looked back up at her, wordlessly asking her what had happened. She shook her head, leaning on his shoulder again. He held her close, mentally promising vengeance upon Shira Ren for this.

"What happened?" Han asked, sensing that something was wrong. He pulled Kylo and Rey away, and gasped. "Force, Jaina- I mean, Rey, we need to get you onboard. Now."

With that, Han ushered Rey into the Falcon and the others followed. Rey sat in the cockpit as Finn and Poe took the turrets. Kylo sat next to Rey while Tahiri sat in the barracks, waiting for Ben to wake up, Anakin waiting outside, and Luke, Han, Chewbacca, BB-8, and R2 filling up the rest of the cockpit.

Luke looked to Rey.

"Hold out your hand," he ordered.

Rey slowly stuck it out, and his flesh hand took hers, and she felt a numbness overtake her. She began to panic.

"No, I'm doing that," Luke told her calmly.

"Oh." Rey calmed, as Kylo watched fearfully.

"You're not going to hurt her, are you?" He asked, unable to let go of a notion he'd been told since his childhood.

"Of course not," Luke said, scorning the notion. "I'm a Jedi. I defend, I don't attack."

"Except when you kill five million people on the Death Star," Kylo snapped.

"That was still a case of self-defense since the Death Star had already destroyed Alderaan, as you very well know," Luke replied calmly as Rey closed her eyes, ready to pass out from her ordeal.

"What about when you killed Vader?" The young man snarled.

Luke frowned as he put his hand on Rey's forehead. "I see Snoke never told you what happened to Darth Vader."

"He told me enough," Kylo hissed. "He told me that you killed him when he was defending the Emperor to avenge your father!"

Luke frowned, taking his hand away from Rey, causing her to open her eyes lazily.

"That simply isn't true," Luke explained. "You see, Vader was my father, and he died protecting me from the Emperor and redeemed himself."

Kylo's dark green eyes widened as he gripped the seat rest.

"No," he moaned. "No."

He shook his head as Rey sat up straight, with a look of horror on her face.

"Your father?" She asked in a tone that sounded very much like her mother.

"That's not true!" Kylo burst out. "That's impossible!"

Luke cocked his head to his side, shook it a little to clear it, and stared at the young man. "I swear this feels familiar."

He paused, and then returned to a Jedi-like look.

"Anyway," he resumed. "It's true. Rey, you're his granddaughter, and Kylo, the idol of the Knights of Ren was once Anakin Skywalker."

"How?" Kylo rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"I don't know, but hand-removal tends to be genetic trait," Luke said with a shrug, causing Rey to wince.

"That's a bit close to home," Rey called. Both men looked at her.

"Wait a minute," Kylo said after a minute. "Rey's really Jaina Solo, right?"

"Right," Luke and Rey chorused (albeit annoyed for Rey).

"Therefore she is the daughter of Leia Skywalker, correct?" Kylo continued.

"Yes," they chorused again.

"So I've been courting the granddaughter of Darth Vader?" He asked, his eyes lighting up with a nerdish delight.

Rey rolled her eyes as Luke nodded.

"That's the best news ever!" Kylo almost-squealed. "I kissed Lady Vader!"

"That title technically belongs to my wife," Han commented as he threw the Falcon into hyperspace. "But let's go with that."

"Or Princess Vader," Kylo declared, earning him a glare from Rey. "That's it! Princess Vader!"

"Really?" Rey demanded.

"Princess Vader does have a ring to it," Han admitted.

"I am not Princess Vader!" Rey shouted.

"We know you aren't," Luke said in a calm voice. "Here, this should help you sleep until the ride is over."

Before she could protest, he put his hand on her forehead, and she slumped against her harness.

"Sleep, Princess Vader," Kylo said, some raw emotion cracking his voice. He kissed her, and then looked up to Luke. "Thank you for helping her."

"It's what I do," Luke said with a shrug. "But you're welcome."


	23. Reawakening

When Rey re-awoke, it was in a med-center in an asteroid field. The room was cool and white, and eerily sterile. Sitting in a chair beside her bed was Kylo, looking very concerned.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"Does what hur- ah!" Rey cried out as a sharp, electric jolt went through her right hand. She looked to see. . . her hand back?

"They replaced it while you were out," Kylo explained as he took her hand into his, massaging it gently. "We're in the Polis Massan medical facility."

"Oh," Rey said as she sat up. "Thanks. Where are the others?"

"Ben refuses to leave the ship," he said, ticking off on his fingers. "Anakin and Tahiri stayed behind with him since he absolutely begged them not to go, Finn and Poe passed out from shooting at TIE fighters that tried to ambush us, and Han, Luke, and Chewie are getting a drink."

"I missed a lot, didn't I?" She asked with a frustrated smile.

"Not that much, Princess Vader," he replied with a smirk.

She groaned and flopped back onto the bed dramatically, causing him to smirk even more.

"I guess it's no use to tell you not to call me that, then?" She asked.

"Nope," Kylo said, shaking his head roguishly.

"I have to find one for you," Rey declared. "Something will work."

"You wish," Kylo said, patting her shoulder. She rolled her eyes in response, and they both began laughing. Then the couple settled into a quiet for a little bit.

"I've been thinking," Rey admitted. "I think that it might be a good idea to have a broadsword lightsaber."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "It's very different from a saber-staff, like you had."

"I know," she said as she sat up again. "But you can teach me, right?"

"I can," he confirmed. "If that's what you want."

"Since hand-removal seems to be a thing, maybe I should have a cross guard," she said.

"Do you want me to show you?" Kylo asked.

Rey nodded, and Kylo offered her his hand, and helped her to her feet as he unclipped his trisaber from his belt. Once Rey was steady, he handed her the lightsaber. She repositioned her hand a few times at his request, and then turned on the crackling purple lightsaber. She swung it once, and Kylo came behind her quickly.

"Not quite," he chided, putting his arms around her, his hands on top of hers. "Like this." He swung, and Rey glanced as best she could in his direction.

"You know, you could've just told me what to do rather than this," she pointed out.

"I know," he replied with a smirk. "But this is more romantic, no?"

"True," Rey admitted, and she went back to swinging the trisaber with his arms around her as Luke, Han, and Chewbacca walked in.

"Good to see that the hand's working," Han said as Kylo retracted his lightsaber and Rey sat down.

"Me too," she admitted. "What are we going to do now?"

"I talked to Leia," Luke said as he rubbed his eyes. "They're having rumors of a Starkiller Base. We're going back to the Anakin, and we're going to begin training more Jedi to go against the Knights of Ren."

"I'd like to help train them," Kylo said quietly. "I know many of the Knights of Ren's tactics and strategies. If you'll allow me to-"

"Of course, Kylo," Luke answered. "Your redemption is important to us."

Kylo nodded and relaxed a little.

Rey looked out at the stars. "The next time the Knights of Ren show their faces, we'll be ready for them."


	24. It is the music of a people

On the _Anakin_ , Rey stared out at the stars again. She'd been reunited with her family and had found some friends. Something she'd dreamed of her whole life. Of course, she'd been betrayed by family, too. Jacen's betrayal had cut her to her core, despite how she acted towards everyone else. He had been her childhood friend, Jaysa, even if she did think he was imaginary.

She fingered the handle of first the saber-staff, and then the more refined version of a trisaber she had made just the night before. She picked it up off of her belt, and she activated it. A sky-blue blade appeared, mostly more elegant than Kylo's (minus a few sparks every now and then) and the cross-guard sprouted after it. She gave it a few swings as she contemplated her new role.

She'd go through training with her Uncle Luke and finish her training, as well as Ben, Poe, Finn, and Kylo. Then the plan was to recruit as many untrained Force-sensitives as possible. She'd get to see and go places she'd only dreamed of on Jakku.

Through a report done by Kylo and a fair amount of slicing, it had been discovered that the First Order had captured the Jakku colony and integrated the colonists into the army. Rey had no love lost over the colonists, except for the cyborg doctor that had raised her. But she knew that they were Empire sympathizers, so they would've been fine anyway.

* * *

Phasma and Hux sat at a table in the canteen aboard the _Mal'ary'ush_ , staring at each other silently, each occasionally glancing at the table of Knights of Ren. The Knights were whispering over some holo at the table, on a table literally higher than all the others. Occasionally one or two of the younger ones, Ulic Ren and Zannah Ren in particular would glance down at the stormtroopers and imperial agents contemptuously.

Phasma sighed as she stuck her fork into the rations. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed Kylo Ren. For all of his status and "dark-side" hype, he did actually eat with his troops, and that often included her and Hux. It was funny to watch him and Hux trade insults, and for her to add her own dashes of verbal spice in between. It was a competition to see how much they cared, how much each other's words could hurt the other, how much they softened each other's skin.

Granted, that game often ended in tears, but Phasma wouldn't have it any other way. She glanced up at Hux, and despite his stony exterior, she knew that he was hurting too. They both missed Kylo, and it cut them deeper to the core than any of the insults they'd dreamed up for each other that he had betrayed them. He'd never walk the corridors of the _Mal'ary'ush_ again, never play the game of dagger-words again, never go into battle beside them again.

Phasma knew that if the Knights of Ren had just let her and Hux handle it, they would've had him back by now. But no, the Knights had to use force, and they'd scared him away.

Hux pounded his fist, raising Phasma's heartbeat, but she didn't flinch or jump.

"Damn it, I'm done sitting around and serving those brats," he hissed. "They've ruined everything since the Emperor made the First Order work with them!"

"We can't do anything about it," Phasma said coldly in a whisper. "They've got those weapons that we can never have."

"What if we made the right weapons to go up against them?" Hux speculated. "We can tell the Emperor that it's to combat Jedi!"

"Quiet down," Phasma scolded, and she snuck a glance at the table of Rens. "Good, they haven't caught onto us. I'm in."

Hux blinked. "Really?"

"Yes," Phasma said. "And we're going to get a certain Knight of Ren back at all costs."

For the first time in ever, Phasma saw Hux smile.

"I like this idea," he said. "Let's discuss it over Nubian wine tonight in my quarters."

"It's a deal," Phasma agreed with her robotic smile that often terrified people, but never Hux nor Kylo.

* * *

Jacen Solo looked in the mirror, panting from another nightmare of Tenel Ka dying as well as the child he hadn't told his parents about yet. He wondered with his betrayal if she'd tell them about his daughter that Tenel Ka would have in eight more months.

Force, he wondered if Tenel Ka would still love him after this, if she'd understand why he did this. Living Force, he knew he'd always love her, and his child, no matter what. In the mirror, he could see how his once-hazel eyes were now a startling yellow. They'd turned when he made his choice, and no matter how much he regretted when he saw Ben's tear-stained face. Still, it was better that he take the role, rather than someone who genuinely meant harm to the galaxy.

Jacen Solo, also known as Caedus Ren, and in some parts of the galaxy, the Emperor, reluctantly went back to bed in attempt to sleep.

* * *

Rey clipped the lightsaber back on her belt. She was grateful to have her family finally, even Tahiri and Tenel Ka, as much as it had taken a moment for the latter in particular to warm up to her. Now the three of them were near inseparable, and they even hung out with Danni Quee, the prodigy at the base. She was grateful for their friendship, and Finn and Poe's as well.

Of course, she was happy to have found love, as well. Kylo might not have been what she was expecting, but he was everything she needed- a warrior, a strategist, and one who was just as passionate as she was.

Right on cue, the tall dark Jedi Apprentice came into the room, and put his arms around Rey as they both looked out into the stars.

"What are you thinking about?" Kylo asked, feeling lucky to be holding her in his arms. He held her a little closer, feeling more possessive at the thought. She was the best thing to happen to him, even if it took a crash-landing on Tattooine 2.0 to make it happen.

"My family," Rey admitted. "Jacen. Tenel Ka and Tahiri. You, of course."

"Glad to know that you think about me as often as I think about you," he said.

"Of course I do," Rey said. "Believe it or not, I love you, Kylo. You'd better get used to that."

"Your love I could get used to," he remarked.

"Good," Rey said. "Now shut up, hold me, and be romantic and look at the stars with me."

"Yes, Princess Vader," he quipped, causing Rey to mock-glare at him.

Maybe it was fate, or the Force that had brought them together, but either way, the light and the dark had melded into one beating heart.

* * *

 **AN: Thank you so much for sticking with Kylo Ren and Rey. The next volume of their adventures will continue in "I Will Love You Always". Good night everybody!**


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